Someone For Everyone
by Dash33
Summary: Because there's someone for everyone. In a world where people can be blinded by chaos, love finds its way to everyone. It's up to them to open their hearts and let it in, even when aliens and humans are threatening to knock down the door at every chance they get. **Written because no one wants to see Alex Danvers alone! I don't own anything other than my thoughts in this story.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm glad you made us change our plans from wallowing to wedding. Even though that felt like the longest wedding ever," I said, once we got back to Kara's apartment.

"It was fun, wasn't it?" she said. "I was worried that I would get bored and just think about Mon-el but we didn't really have time for that."

We sat down on Kara's couch and I handed her a glass of wine. "No, there was not much time for anything other than kicking doppelgänger ass."

"Well, I mean, you did find time for some fun before all that," Kara said, with a smirk.

"I don't know what got into me," I grinned. "I mean, a lot of scotch. But I don't do things like that."

"Yeah but you have found out a lot about yourself recently. Maybe if you had known back then, you would've found some reasons to do something like that."

"Yeah, maybe," I said, taking a sip from my glass. "I just keep circling back to what if. What if I made a mistake giving up on Maggie and me? What if she was my one?"

"Everything happens for a reason. What if you gave up something that's important to you instead of taking the leap and finding it all? I had it all...it is possible."

"Yeah, you're right. I just thought it'd be easier by now," I mumbled, while Kara wrapped an arm around me.

"It will, eventually."

* * *

"We have an alert! A ship just entered earths atmosphere!" shouted Winn.

"Where?" asked Supergirl.

"Judging by the entry and trajectory, it's going to land just outside the harbour," he looked at J'onn.

"Let's get over there to meet our new guests!" said the director.

Supergirl took off towards the harbour, while J'onn and I followed behind. Supergirl landed on shore to watch the ship descend from above. As she watched, she thought something was off.

"They're coming in too fast!" I yelled, as I jumped out of the passenger side of the DEO vehicle.

Supergirl took off as soon as she heard, running into them with hopes of slowing it down.

"You're not going to be able to stop it completely," said Winn. "Just slow it down enough for a safe landing into the water."

"Okay," said the hero, as she made contact and pushed against the ship. "There looks to be about three people on board. Including Mon-..." her voice trailed off.

"Come again? Including who?" I asked, thinking I had heard her say Mon-el. There's was no way, I thought. How could he be back, the earth was still polluted with lead?

"I'm not sure, I don't have a great visual," strained Supergirl, as she tried to fight back.

I worried that this might set Kara back on the progress she had made moving on. I knew all too well how hard it was to move on from someone you loved and cared for. I watched as Supergirl became pinched between the water and the ship, my stomach in its usual knots.

"Supergirl! Get out of there! Let the ship take the impact!" warned Winn.

"Supergirl!" called J'onn, as he and I helplessly watched the ship push her into the water. We waited, all holding our breath; waiting for Supergirl to emerge. Minutes seemed like hours before the ship broke the surface and bobbed in the water.

I let my eyes scan the water for my sister. The fear, that this was finally the time she wouldn't survive, was creeping in my throat. And then she appeared. Supergirl darted from the water and swooped back down to push the vessel ashore.

"Are you okay?" I asked, trudging through the water.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just knocked the air out of me," said Supergirl, her eyes lifting to the door of the ship that had been released. They all waited, wanting to see who would emerge. I drew my weapon but I couldn't stand the suspense and I climbed aboard the ship.

"No way," my words were barely more than a whisper and Kara was by my side.

"Mon-el?" asked Supergirl, as she lowered herself into the ship, where the passengers appeared unconscious. She climbed next to Mon-el and took his mask off. His eyes flickering open.

"Hey," he gasped, taking his first couple gulps of air. "I missed you."

"How is this happening?" asked Supergirl.

"We have an unconscious female, she needs medical attention right away," I ordered, checking her vitals. "She wasn't wearing a mask."

"There were only two masks," said Mon-el. "I argued with her to take mine. But she's so damn stubborn. Just don't open the mini pod until we're at the DEO."

We looked around to see a pod like child seat strapped in and what looked like a small child inside, asleep.

"Rae didn't want her exposed to the environment if our lead inhibitors didn't work," explained Mon-el.

"Supergirl, get her back to the DEO stat. We'll transport the rest back with us, it looks like everyone is waking up besides her," ordered J'onn.

Supergirl took one last look at the love she thought she'd never get back. "I thought I'd lost you."

Mon-el smiled, "Couldn't keep me away for too long. Go, I'll be right behind you."

Supergirl reluctantly picked up the woman and flew her back to the DEO.

* * *

I studied the screens that were monitoring Rae. Mon-el explained that he had found his cousin while looking for somewhere to go after the Daxam attacks. In the midst of the fleet of ships, hers was arriving late to the convoy. When he assessed the ships information, he discovered it was Rae, a cousin that had been lost during the war between Krypton and Daxam. He didn't shed much more on the subject, as we didn't have much time between the harbour and the DEO.

"Where's Charlie?" the voice was strong, but cracked with worry. Rae's eyes were darting around the room. She was reaching for the tubes in her arm. But I placed my hand on top of hers to still them.

"She's okay," I insisted, pulling a seat up to her bed. "She's fine, she's with Mon-el and your mom," I said, gently guiding Rae back down. "I'm Agent Alex Danvers of the DEO. You're in the med bay. Do you remember what happened?"

Rae felt her head with a shaky hand. "I remember seeing a loose chord by Charlie's pod. I wanted to check it out but when I loosened my straps, we hit something and I hit my head, it knocked me out."

"That explains the concussion symptoms. We're monitoring you for decompression sickness. That was pretty dangerous for you to come down without an oxygen mask." I took the chance to study Rae's face before continuing. "We were able assess your inhibitor and felt that your inhibitor would be stable enough while we ran some tests but we wanted Charlie in a controlled environment when we opened her pod. Mon-el told us of your concerns with her being so young, so we took every precaution we could." Rae seemed to relax a little more.

"So, everything is fine?" she asked, not sure if she was just asking or trying to convince herself.

"Everything is fine," I smiled, hoping to add some comfort. "Mon-el said it's been a rough go. You were testing on yourself?"

"We had to test the inhibitors on someone and he had the knowledge and the connections back on earth. Although, he was a such a pain in the ass that it crossed my mind to let him test them."

I laughed, "you two were close before you were separated?"

Rae looked down at her hands. "We were. He was like my little brother, basically inseparable. He was someone I could rely on."

"Yeah, he's become that guy for us here as well, we're happy to have him back," I said.

"I really didn't have a choice, it was help him get back to earth or be stuck listening to him go on and on about how great Supergirl is forever," joked Rae.

"Well, I mean, she is pretty awesome," I agreed.

Supergirl walked through the door and was trying to avoid eye contact with Rae.

"Alex, can I have a word outside please?" she said, keeping her attention on me.

"Yeah, sure," I answered, standing up. "I'll be right back."

We stepped outside the med bay and walked down the hall a bit. Clearly Kara didn't want Rae to hear what she had to say. "What's up?" I asked, looking at Kara's expression. "You okay?"

"J'onn is implementing new protocol. These "visitors" are not allowed to see each other or communicate until we have physical evidence that they are who they say they are."

"Did you just air quote visitors? It's Mon-el, shouldn't you, of all people, know if it's him or not?"

"Couldn't J'onn say the same thing about you and Jeremiah? We let him walk right in here and steal critical information. We can't let that happen again."

"So you're on board with this?" I asked, feeling guilty because my one mistake had created this.

"It sucks," she shrugged. "J'onn made a good point. If someone was targeting us, it wouldn't be hard to figure out we've both been down and out lately. It'd be the perfect plan, for them to send people we want most, to get close to us."

"I don't want Rae. I don't even know her," I argued, taking a glimpse in the direction of med bay.

"You don't want her?" said Kara, putting a hand on her hip. "Look at her! She's good looking, she's super smart and she has a kid! That checks one hundred percent of your boxes and probably some you didn't even know about. She's Maggie, but in mom-form."

I rolled my eyes, shaking off the sting of hearing Maggie's name out loud. "No one is Maggie."

"Well, lucky for you because otherwise you'd never find someone who has all those qualities and wants kids. Either way, I'm just saying keep your guard up and it's protocol, we don't have a say in it. Besides, we have Mon-el's DNA, so Winn's just going to cross reference it and we should be good to go. He can vouch for his cousin and we can all get out of here. Keep them separated."

Kara walked away and I took a breath before re-entering the med bay. "Easy for you to say, I have to keep a mother from her baby."

"Shoulder okay?" I asked, looking over Rae's oxygen levels as she sat rubbing her neck and arm.

"Yeah, its fine. I'd like to go see Charlie please."

I turned around slowly. "The thing is, we're on lockdown. So no one can leave their areas."

"Is there a threat to the facility?" Rae asked, getting out of bed. "Is Charlie safe?"

"Charlie will be fine. She's still with your mom and a guard," I explained, knowing the next part of what I had to say wasn't going to be easy. "We're on locked down because of you and Mon-el."

Rae stared at me, trying to comprehend what was being said. It wouldn't make sense, for the last seven months, her cousin had spoke non stop about returning to this place he now called home. He was returning to this woman who would be waiting for him. "Did Mon-el lie to me? Has he done something?"

"No, Mon-el is waiting for his results from his DNA scan. I'm sure he understands, he was there when this happened last time. This isn't literally about you guys, it's the fact that we've been burned before and we can't-won't let it happen again," I said, bringing my stool back closer to the bed.

"Wow, whoever burned you guys really did a number. Those are some serious trust issues," said Rae, leaning against the bed.

"It was my Dad."

"Ouch, that must have been a tough day," mumbled Rae.

"The worst," I admitted, unable to control the pained look that crossed my face. "Anyways, you should get some rest while you're here. I'm sure the results won't take long."

"There has to be a way I can see my daughter. We just travelled a ridiculous amount and I just want to see for myself that she's okay."

I thought about it and Rae's sad expression wasn't helping. "Let me see what I can do," I said, turning back to my computer.

"Thank you," said Rae, sitting back on the bed. "I get protocol, a good chunk of my life revolved around protocol in the army. I just wasn't expecting it today. I'm sorry you guys have been targeted before but honestly, I'm just here to give my daughter a chance at a normal life."

"I know," I nodded, handing Rae my tablet with a camera screen of the room her daughter was in. She was sitting on a large conference table, clapping her hands with her grandmother. "You'll just have to trust me, that we're moving through this process as fast as we can to get you two reunited."

"It's kind of ironic, that I need to give my trust to you but you guys can't offer the same in return," Rae mumbled, turning over on her side and staring into tablet.

I didn't like sounding like a hypocrite; I knew if it were me in her shoes, I'd be losing my mind. Feeling horrible, I excused myself to get some air. "I'm sorry, I'm going to go check where we're at with the results."

Rae didn't move, her back to the rest of the room as she watched the screen.

Hours had passed and Mon-el was getting impatient. He knew his cousin was alone in med bay and he was stuck in a training room. Finally, Kara returned.

"Well? Are we cleared? Why is this taking so long?" he asked, walking up to her and taking her hands in his. Kara pulled them back and stepped away. Mon-el was confused.

"They're having a hard time locating your last DNA sample, so we have nothing to compare your current one with," she stated.

"Kara, it's me. I've waited for what felt like years instead of months to get back to you. How can you just act like you don't even know me?"

"I can't," she said. "Can't you see this is killing me? All I've wanted for the last seven months was to wake up next to you. But it was you who said we couldn't trust someone just because we knew and loved them. You made that point with Jeremiah and we didn't listen, so please just understand we're taking your advice now."

Mon-el sighed a big breath and nodded his head. His head knew she was right, but his heart was playing sides. From his shirt, he pulled out the necklace she given him before he left. "I know it's for the safety of everyone but it's me. Can you please just kiss me?"

Kara looked at the necklace before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss. " I missed you so much. I meant what I said, I love you."

Mon-el leaned his forehead against hers, relieved that she believed him. "I love you too."

When I walked into the training room where Mon-el was being held, I saw Kara and Mon-el in each other's arms. I stepped in and leaned against the wall with my arms folded across my chest. "So much for keeping everyone separated."

They took a step back from one another but continued holding hands. "Alex, he has my mothers necklace. The one I gave him before he left."

"I've been a little wary of my instincts since everything happened with Maggie, but I knew it was you. What you two share is something special, you really need to hold on to that," I said, feeling my stomach relax. "Any word from Winn so we can make this official?"

"Still waiting," answered Supergirl.

"Mon-el, why did your cousin follow you to earth instead of just sending you down in your pod?"

"Since the war, my cousin has been searching for a place to settle down and call home. When she heard of the Daxamites landing on this earth, she thought she might find other family here. Now that we've been reunited she was hoping she'd be able to raise her daughter here, around family."

I wanted to know more about Rae and how she came to land on this earth. "How could she make three inhibitors, plus a mini one for a child with lacking supplies on a ship?" I knew I was peppering Mon-el with questions but I didn't think Rae would want to talk until she saw her daughter. We still couldn't move forward until we had official word from the director.

"The ship Rae was on had been taken over by peace keeping soldiers, Daxamites tired of fighting and more concerned with saving what was left of our planet," explained Mon-el. "The ship belonged to the Royal family. It's top of the line, complete with its own lab."

"So how did Rae come to be on it with a baby?" asked Kara.

"The Daxamites sent out a signal to regroup, but Rae couldn't exactly go back to my mother's ship so she found herself the peace keeping troop that she had founded once she had been banished from Daxam."

"Rae went against Rhea?" I asked.

"Rae couldn't hurt a fly. She looks tough and is, but she doesn't have an evil bone in her body. When my mother couldn't have any more children, she longed for a daughter. Rae and I were always together; she was like a sister, always looking out for me. My mother saw how well we got along; she tried to mold her into the daughter she always wanted. Rhea and my uncle were close siblings; Rae is named after my mother. So when my mother suggested to Rae that she join the coalition, Rae didn't want to let her down. But she stayed true to who she was and became a doctor in the Daxam Army. It wasn't exactly what my mother had in mind, but it was obviously something she could work with. Rhea tried to force Rae into researching biochemical methods of warfare. Rae has always been brilliant, she excelled in school and Rhea figured that's how Rae would come to prove her worth. But Rae couldn't; all the horrors she had seen while out in the field, she spoke of it when she would return for short stints. She couldn't bare it and I should've done more to stand up for her. When the war looked like it wouldn't end, she made a choice to choose peace. Her research was of ways to heal not only Daxamites, but also all Kryptonians, faster. I can see this now, but then it only came off as betrayal. She knew plans from both sides and when she couldn't talk sense to either, she just started healing and trying to help everyone."

"Did Rhea find out?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was bad. There was a warrant out for Rae's return. Rae was brought in by her own troop. She was so stubborn, now I wish she had just run. But that's not Rae; she stood in front of my mother and swore that given the chance the only thing she would have done differently would have been to find her research faster. The look on my mothers face was a mix of pride, she felt that the strength Rae possessed had come from her but then it changed to disgust, that Rae didn't carry out what was best for her people. She banished Rae in the middle of the war regardless of the countless times she risked her life, trying to save someone else. All I did was stand by as I watch my mother cut into my best friend to remove the Daxamite insignia off her uniform. I knew my cousin felt equally betrayed by me, I could feel it. I could feel her eyes on me as her blood was spilt that day."

"So now what?" I asked.

"Well, it was a pretty cold reunion. I don't think I was the family she was hoping to find, but after hearing everything that happened since, I think we're on a level that we can understand each other. That's why she agreed to help me get back here. She lives a pretty normal "human" life from what I've grown to learn. They were living on earth-1 before Rae heard the signal," said Mon-el, looking between Kara and myself.

"Alex! You're needed in med bay right away," came Winn, in my earpiece. Alarmed, I took off running towards the medical wing.

"What happened?" I asked, grabbing gloves and going to Rae.

"The monitors are going mad, but she isn't presenting much different from before," explained an assistant.

"I'm...fine," gasped Rae, who was holding her shoulder. "Just a small case...of the bends."

"That's the first stage in decompression sickness," I said, reaching for the oxygen mask. I pulled it down over her face. "We need to go to the hyperbaric chambers."

"You guys just have one of those just lying around?" Rae asked, sarcastically.

"Actually, yes. We do. We're the DEO," I said, smiling back and helping her up. She cringed when I tried using her arm to help.

"Sorry," I worried I made it worse. "Let's go this way."

We walked down two more halls and Rae came to a complete stop, staring through the conference room window. I saw her whole body soften when she saw her daughter asleep in her mom's arms.

"She's very sweet," I said, quietly.

"Yeah, she really is," agreed Rae, trying to subtlety wipe away a tear. "Quite the personality for only a little over a yesr old. Always trying to make me laugh."

Her mom rocked the chair back and forth before looking up to see Rae. When she did, she sat straighter. Rae held up a hand, stopping her from standing. Her mom mouthed the words, "are you okay?" Rae nodded and smiled, before turning her attention my way. "How many ways are there to the chamber?"

"Three," I answered, still looking through the glass.

Turning back to the window, Rae gave another comforting smile to her mom, "thank you."

"You're welcome," I answered, sneaking another glance her way. "We should keep going. I can monitor everything better from the chamber."

Rae nodded and gave her mom a small wave before putting her best foot forward so her mom wouldn't see her in pain. I respected how strong Rae was, but could also see another side to her as well. We arrived at the hyperbaric chamber and I opened the door for her.

"Come in Winn," I called out on my radio.

"Winn here! What can I do ya for?" he chirped.

"Take me offline. I'm entering the hyperbaric chamber with a patient."

"T-take you offline? With the potential convict patient in a locked chamber?" he asked loudly, allowing Rae to hear. Rae laughed a little while holding her shoulder steady.

I took a step back before giving my answer. "Well maybe if you could rush the results we would have our answers."

"Oh, sassy! Okay. I like it," he said.

"Winn. Offline," I repeated, before unsnapping my radio.

I helped Rae up on to the bed inside the chamber and readjusted her oxygen supply. I booted up the screens and started the chamber.

"You don't have to lock yourself in here, you know. I've used these before, I can run it," offered Rae, with a smirk. "You know, so you're not locked in here with a potential felon."

"I'm extensively trained in tactical operations and combat, as well as being certified in over thirty military weapons, I think I'll be okay if you turn out to be a felon," I said with my own smirk. I continued hooking Rae up to the various machines that would help.

"Wow, military?" said Rae, pretending to think back. "I was in the military once. Although, I remember being certified in thirty two weapons."

I couldn't help but laugh a little at her teasing. Her sense of humour was refreshing considering her current circumstance. "Do you want my help or not?" I teased back.

"I do appreciate it," she answered, her tone more serious now. "But what if something happens and you're stuck in here. We'd have to wait for the chamber to level out before you could open the door."

"Nothing will happen, we're at the DEO and even if it did, Supergirl and Mon-el are out there with an army of others. Everything will be fine," I assured her. She was quiet now, favouring her shoulder.

"Is it getting worse?" I asked.

"No, it's fine," she said.

"Are you sure?" I asked again. "I can read your pain levels, they're pretty high."

"What are you, a psychic?" joked Rae.

"Well, you are squeezing the bed rails together." We both looked at the rails that were now pinched in the middle. Rae looked at me a little stunned.

"What the hell?" she mumbled, looking at her hands.

"You'll have different abilities now that you're on this planet. They must be manifesting now that you've spent some time on earth with the yellow star. We should've just kept you under the sun lamps. Your healing power should fix everything," I explained. I moved closer to check her lungs. We were both silent as I listened, "sounds like there is some improvement. I'll see what I can do about reversing the chamber."

"Mon-el mentioned that he was able to jump from buildings and was much stronger but I don't know if I just didn't really believe him or I forgot. I was so busy with finding a way to produce the inhibitors. Does this mean Charlie will have the same abilities?"

"They may be harder to detect at such a young age. I can run some tests to see what we can find out?" I offered, trying to stop the pressurization. "I stopped the chamber but we're still going to have to wait until the pressure normalizes."

"Okay, everything is starting to loosen back up. Thank you for your help," Rae said, swinging her legs over the bed. I moved closer to take out the tubes that I could at the moment.

"No problem," I answered, feeling like I was standing a little closer than I had to. I caught Rae's ocean blue eyes and had to step back to the monitors while my blush left my cheeks.

"So, what do you guys do for fun on this planet?" Rae asked, lightening the mood.

"Um, its pretty similar to Earth-1. We were actually just on Earth-1 for a wedding, believe it or not," I said, pulling out the last tube in her arm. Rae looked up at me with a sceptical look on her face, "small galaxy I guess huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I smiled; her hand touched mine as I was moving away and she looked up at me from her spot on the bed and smiled back.

"Results are in! Everyone is who they say they are! Mon-el's back! Yay!" shouted Winn, with his arms up in the air through the glass of the chamber.

His presence and shouting startled me back a couple steps and I busied myself away from Rae.

"Um, that's great to hear," I said, smiling at Winn through the chamber window.

"Yeah, hey. What's going on here? Shouldn't Rae be hooked up and being monitored?" he asked, his nose basically pressed against the glass.

"Her abilities are much like Mon-els, she's able to heal herself and withstand injury. It didn't occur to me until we had already pressurized. We're just waiting for the chamber to level out now," I confirmed.

"Okay, well once you guys are out we'll be able to go out and celebrate! Drinks for all!" Winn shouted. "Oh, before I forget, while you were offline I took the liberty of monitoring your phone calls and your date for dinner tonight called to confirm."

I had forgot all about my new dating life with all that had happened today. Thankfully, my back was turned to both Winn and Rae so they couldn't see my response. "Winn, do me a favour and call back to cancel. I probably won't make it in time."

"What? Don't be silly, it says you have twelve more minutes to wait and then you're a free woman! Dinner isn't until eight! You'll even have enough time to stop at home and revamp that cute little thing you've been doing to your hair lately. You know the one—"

'Great Winn! Thank you," I said, cutting him off before he spilled any more details of my personal life. I turned around to see him walking back out the way he came.

When I finally looked back at Rae, she had a small knowing smirk. I took a seat on the chair leaning against the wall to wait out our last eleven minutes.

"Well," said Rae, jumping down off the bed and extending a hand to me. "I'm Rae, officially Mon-el's cousin. It's nice to finally meet you Agent Danvers."


	2. Chapter 2

"Just let me punch you in the face once," said Mon-el, swinging at me while I dodged him.

"What?" I said, "No way."

"It won't hurt! I promise. I've been hit in the face, a lot, on this planet," He came at me with a series of punches, all aiming at or around my head. "It's amazing, you don't feel a thing!"

I blocked his arms before grabbing his hand. I twisted his arm and spun him so he was facing away from me.

"I think I still have it!" I teased, holding him while he squirmed around. I was trying to lower him to the ground when Alex walked by outside the training room. She took my focus away for a second and the next thing I knew Mon-el had his arms free and was using the momentum to flip me over. I landed flat on my back, staring up. I could hear him laughing thinking he had won this round.

"Little rusty?" Alex was standing over me with that grin I was starting to come to recognize.

"Lucky break I think," taking the hand she was offering.

"If you can't beat Mon-el, it's definitely rust," she said, teasing my cousin.

"Hey! I'm a valuable member of the team! I offer critical distractions and lovable, quirky commentary with impeccable timing," he said, placing his hands on his hips.

"Sounds handy," I laughed.

"How are you settling in?" asked Alex, folding her arms.

"Uh, good. Thanks," I said. "Mon-el was able to set us up with a place for when we got here.

"That's good," she replied. "How's Charlie like it?"

"She loves it, lots for her climb on and crawl around," I smiled. "Definitely not baby proof, my mom was working on that with her today."

"Hey, how did that steamy date go I heard about the other night?" interrupted Mon-el, wiggling his eyebrows. I made a mental note to give him a punch for that one.

Alex looked down, shyly before answering. "Yeah, it went fine. Dating is always so awkward, isn't it?"

We both smiled.

"Well, I should go. Just wanted to check in," Alex said, heading towards the door. "Oh, J'onn wants an assessment of your abilities. He did it with Mon-el, I'll send Winn down. Or whenever you get a chance. Up to you. Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed.

Alex smiled again and narrowly missed the doorframe on her way out.

"She seemed frazzled, didn't she seem frazzled to you?" asked Mon-el.

"Maybe because you interrogated her on her dating life," I suggested.

"They're so weird about courtship on these planets, I did miss that about Daxam. It was kind of like an anything with consent goes, not like this at all. It can be confusing down here. You should be careful," he warned.

"I'm not dating anyone. What's there to be careful of," I said, taking a shot at his head.

* * *

"Oh my god!" yelled Winn. "What if you didn't have the ability to jump buildings? You just jump off the balcony anyways?"

"I self heal! I would've been fine!" I yelled back up to him. Mon-el was laughing beside Winn.

"I'm going to mark down pain in the as-"

Winn was cut off as J'onn walked into the lobby and made his presence known by clearing his throat. Winn and Mon-el took a step back so they were out of sight.

"Rae, how's the assessment going?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Good sir, pretty similar to Mon-el, except stronger and smarter, of course, " I answered, managing to get a smile out of him.

"Makes sense, Supergirl and Superman are cousins and they share the same powers and abilities."

I nodded in agreement. He motioned for me to walk with him.

"I'm sure you found yourself a job on earth-1, will you be finding yourself employment here?" he asked.

"Actually, Mon-el said he would be able to set me up at a local bar here in town. He said all I'd have to know was how to make a club soda and I'd be good to go."

J'onn stopped, frowning. "You know, I was pretty impressed with your inhibitors."

"Thank you sir."

"Considering the state of the lab you were working with, you were still able to find all the means necessary to produce what you needed. It makes me wonder what you'd be able to do with a state of the art laboratory," he said, motioning to the labs behind him.

"Director Jones, it's been a minute since I've needed to use my skills as a physician or a researcher. I'm afraid I wouldn't come close to the DEO standards," I answered, honestly.

"Well, I assume it's like riding a bike. We can ease you in and I'd be happy to have our best agent bring you up to speed with your training."

"You're offering me a spot in the DEO?" I asked, flabbergasted. J'onn smiled and nodded.

"Sir, I feel it's my duty to inform you, I was dishonourably discharged from the Daxam army," I said, feeling a roller coaster of emotions from anger to shame.

"I know all about your service. I've read your files and other information that was found. Rae, I don't take the hiring of my staff lightly. My team has all been hand picked. I know talent and skill when I see it. It would be a real shame to see your skills wasted at a bar," said J'onn.

Blown away by what I was hearing, I couldn't believe the opportunity I was being given. "Director Jones, I can't thank you enough. I look forward to working with you and your team."

"Good, be here tomorrow. Oh six hundred. Your trainer will be waiting," he said, walking back to the hub of the DEO.

I watched until he walked away, hoping he wouldn't hear my excitement.

"Hey! What was all that about?" asked Mon-el, creeping around the corner to make sure J'onn was gone.

"Director Jones just offered me a spot in the DEO!" I said, holding up a high five.

He unenthusiastically high fived me back. "Wow. I really had to convince him that I'd be a good fit and a real contribution when I was new."

"Anyways, J'onn said he'd get his best agent to bring me up to speed. Any tips?" I teased.

"You're going to need more than tips if that's the case," grumbled Mon-el.

"Aww, you always did get a little pouty when the girls wanted to play with me instead of you," I said, punching him in the arm. "Let's go train some more! I got all this energy now!"

* * *

After a small sparring session with my cousin, I showered and headed home.

"I'm home!" I called out. "Mom? Charlie?"

I was bent over untying my shoes and I heard a sound; it was getting louder and faster. I jumped around the corner and saw Charlie crawling towards me.

"Boo!" I said, her face lighting up the moment she saw me. "Hi baby girl!"

I picked her up and twirled around with her. Her giggle was everything to me. She gave me a big, gloopy kiss and wrapped her little arms around my neck. "How was your day? Were you a good kid for Grandma?" Charlie nodded and put her finger in her mouth. "Still working on that tooth, I see."

Stepping further into the kitchen, I saw my mom at the sink, getting ready to whip up some crazy concoction.

"Hey mom," I greeted her before sitting down at the kitchen table with Charlie.

"Hi Honey," she said. "How was your day?"

"It was actually pretty amazing," I said, giving Charlie a tickle on her side. "Mom you don't have to cook. I can do it."

"I can make a simple dinner, I'm not a thousand. I have a bum leg, that doesn't affect my culinary abilities," she argued.

"Culinary abilities? Did you get those from the yellow sun? Cause I don't remember those," I teased. She swatted in my direction and laughed. "Maybe we should get Alex to check out your leg, now that you're here, it should've began to heal itself."

"Well, you're a doctor. Why can't you just look at it?" she asked. She wasn't a fan of doctors, outside of me, of course.

"Cause I'm not as experienced with this yellow sun, cell regeneration process. Alex is great though; she's super smart. I'm sure she'd be able to help you."

"Who is this Alex?" my mom asked, side eyeing me.

"Agent Danvers? The doctor from the other day?"

"I know which one she is. I just mean, why do you know "Alex" so well?"

"Oh, it's not like that. I was stuck in med bay and a hyperbaric chamber with her. I was bound to pick up a couple things," I said, rolling my eyes. "Plus, she's dating and you know what it's like on these planets. They don't usually run freely with their love like they did on Daxam. It's more strict, they have some sort of rules and they don't usually break them."

"Well, if Miss Danvers is so smart. She should see that certain rules are worth challenging," my mom smiled. "Why was your day so great?"

"Director Jones offered me a spot at the DEO. I'll get to be back in the field, the lab and the med bay. I'll be able to do what I love to do and what I'm good at," I said.

"Well," she said, quickly glancing up. "That's good then."

"What?"

"What what? I said that's good," she answered.

"You hesitated," I replied.

"I just mean, what about Charlie? Do you think that's a good idea?"

"What about her? Can she work in a lab?" I said, making a funny face at Charlie and continuing in a funny voice. "Are you a doctor Miss?"

Charlie laughed.

"I thought this would be good, I'll be making enough money to support us here. You won't have to work, I thought you could look after Charlie?"

"Which I'm more than happy to do. But an agent? Being in the field? It's dangerous, what if something happens to you? It's not just you anymore," said my mom, gently tugging at one of Charlie's wavy blonde curls.

"I know, but I can't really get hurt anymore. Not with the yellow sun. But we're starting slow anyways, just getting back into the groove with some training. Director Jones said he'd send his best agent to train me tomorrow," I smiled.

"Is that Agent Danvers?" my mom cooed.

I ignored her and lifted Charlie into the air, making her giggle.

* * *

While it wasn't my first choice, I didn't mind retraining Rae in her certifications. She had a fun, light side that kept things fresh but when it came down to training, the other side of the coin was serious. The past week or so had almost been fun I thought, although, shooting weapons and being at the range was always fun.

"Good morning Agent Danvers," I heard from behind me. I turned to see Rae walking towards me, looking much different from the other times I had seen her in her DEO t-shirt and cargo pants. Today, she was dressed in black dress pants and a low cut dress shirt, with a nicely fitted blazer to top it off.

"Good morning, Agent Gand," I welcomed her. "Did you have a nice Christmas?"

"We did, thank you. Charlie even got a visit from your Santa Claus," she smiled.

I smiled back, picturing her little curly haired daughter, ripping through gifts.

"How about you? Did you have a nice holiday break?" Rae asked, leaning on the desk.

"Actually, we got called in. Someone burnt this into a field and we're not sure what it means," I said, sliding the photos of the image towards her. "I'll bring you up to speed on the way."

I packed up the rest of the file I was reading and paused when I saw Rae hadn't moved.

"I've seen this before," she said, studying it.

"Really?" I asked, happy to finally be getting somewhere with this.

"When we were at war with Kyrpton, I remember my Lieutenant holding an image like this one. He used to make a mockery of their religion. He thought it was some kind of psychological mind play. He probably couldn't even spell 'psychological'. I remember him saying something about being the beast that would bring them down," said Rae, reliving her horrible days in the Daxam army. She looked up at me. "A world killer that would deliver justice."

"A world killer?"

"Yeah, I always thought he meant himself, as in he was leading the destruction of their world. There were always three parts to his plan; the mark of the beast, the work of the beast, and the Reign of the beast. He must have been referencing their religion beyond what I knew. I just took it more literal."

"Well, that's more information than we had," I said. "World killer, three part plan. That's bound to be able to get us a lead."

"I mean, it makes sense if that glyph is marked all over the city."

"Ah, Rae!" called Winn, walking in behind us. "Can I see you for a second? I have some...things, I need to discuss."

"He's trying to convert your lead inhibitor with a program he's created so we can track it and get alerts, should something go wrong," I chimed in.

"Aww, why'd you have to go and spoil the surprise!" he pouted. "How'd you even know anyway?"

"I know everything that goes on in the DEO Winn, when will you learn that?" I teased. I saw Rae smile.

"I'll catch up with you in a bit?" Rae said.

"Sure, sounds good," I smiled.

* * *

I was a little disappointed. I was hoping to hang out with Alex, especially if I could be of help in this new case. Winn was a good guy though, and if he thought he could better the inhibitors than that was also important, for Charlie's sake.

"So Boy Genius, you think you've worked out a plan to make my inhibitors better?"

"I believe I have made some upgrades, yes," he said, sitting in his chair. "Don't get me wrong, I saw the lab on your ship and I'm wicked impressed that you could pull that off in those conditions."

"Well thanks, coming from you that's quite the compliment."

"My concerns are this though," he said, spinning in his chair. "Should something go wrong with the device itself, we'd have no way of knowing until you or the others were super sick and suffering from lead poisoning. Ergo, I developed a program that will track every flicker that inhibitor will make. I have made a prototype that I've tested and it seems worthy."

"How confident are you that this will work?" I asked.

"Mmm...I'd say about ninety seven point six percent sure it's glitch free," he answered. "Give or take."

"I'm not implanting something in my daughter that we're not one hundred percent on. We'll test it on me for a bit and then we can switch the others."

"Okay, sounds good. We'll hook you up and then we can go grab some grub? You in?" asked Winn, shooting me his finger guns.

"I've got some training with Alex but yeah, then I'm in."

I went to find Alex. If we could get a more sophisticated inhibitor, then I wanted that for Charlie. But putting her back under a knife to surgically implant it would be hard.

"Hey, everything go okay with Winn?" asked Alex, stopping me with a touch on my shoulder.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking about how we'd have to put Charlie back under sedation. She's been through so much already."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, we have the best technology on this planet and will be able to monitor her every step of the way," she said, trying to reassure me. "Plus, Winn is the brightest tech agent we have, if he's one hundred percent about something you won't have to worry."

"That's just it, he's only ninety seven percent sure. I told him I wanted it tested on me first," I said.

"Rae, I don't know if that's a good idea. You've already exposed yourself to more lead than you probably should have when creating the first round."

"I can't endanger my daughter by using a device we aren't certain about. It needs to be tested. I'm sure Boy Genius is just being modest, but this way, we'll know for sure."

* * *

I was knotting the last stitch in Rae's shoulder after switching her inhibitors. So far everything was online and tracking the way it was supposed to.

"Okay, you're all set," I said, handing Rae her blazer back. "How do you feel?"

"I feel the same, that must be a good sign right?" she smiled.

"You know, with having a controlled inhibitor we should be able to control the inhibition. Maybe that way we can finally get in some fair hand-to-hand combat training."

"Oh, it sounds like you just want to have an advantage so you can finally beat me in something. Maybe a little revenge for those target practice scores?"

I couldn't help but smile, remembering she did beat me in a couple rounds.

"Maybe that's it, guess we'll have to see," I said. "Meet me in the training room, there's a change of clothes in the locker room."

Minutes later, Rae and I were sparring since we were able to lower her resistance to lead by a minuscule amount. Every so often, we'd pause to check how the inhibitor was holding up by checking the remote that Winn had designed. I think Rae was beginning to come around; the idea that it'd be safer for everyone if we could be proactive in monitoring, rather than reactive should something go wrong. Rae threw a punch that I blocked and grabbed her forearm, forcing her to flip over my back. She spun around on the ground and knocked my feet out from under me, causing us to wrestle it out on the floor. I managed to get on top of her but the second I tried to pin her hands Rae quickly used the momentum to roll me over her and she was standing above me with a smirk. Thinking she had won another round, she let her guard down and I made the same move to sweep her feet out. Rae fell backwards, knocking over our stuff and shutting off our music.

"Well there goes our theme music," she joked, as she lay on her back.

"I think I won that round," I teased, slowly getting to my feet. "Point for Danvers!"

I walked over to her and offered her a hand to help her up. But when I got beside her, her eyes were wide as she struggled for breath.

"Rae!" I yelled. I turned searching for her remote. I could hear her gasping behind me as I pushed our stuff out of the pile. Then I saw it, the remote was lying in a puddle of water from a bottle that had been knocked when Rae fell. I instantly reached to my earpiece.

"Winn," I said, trying to stay calm. I made my way back over to Rae as I tried to wipe the remote and turn it back on.

"Winn here. Read you loud and clear," he said.

"Winn, Rae's inhibitor is malfunctioning and the remote is damaged. I need help ASAP. We're in the north west training room."

Rae laid there trying to conserve her breathing. She was trying to be her usual collected self, but I could see the fear in her eyes.

"It's okay, Winn's on his way with help," I took her hand in mine. "Just take slow breaths. It's going to be alright."

"I got it! I got it!" yelled Winn, as he came running into the room. He was out of breath and sweating. He pointed a second remote toward Rae and pushed a couple buttons.

I felt for Rae's pulse on her wrist and found that it was returning to normal. I helped her sit up.

"Guess we found that margin of error," she gasped, reaching for the rest of the bottle of water.

"Uh, yeah. I can see where I may have gone wrong with a hand held remote. Yes. So, I will create a better solution and b-r-b!" he said, as he left the room.

"You okay?" I asked, watching Rae take a second.

"Just a little out of breath," she answered.

"Oh sure, I start winning and you go and pull a stunt like this," I saw a small smile sneak through her lips. "Let me help you up." I felt her leaning on me more than she probably wanted to, letting me know she was feeling the effects more than she was letting on. "Why don't we call it for the day and you let me run some tests?"

"No, I'm okay. I just need a second and we can get back to training," insisted Rae.

"Look, I think we're about to have a real problem with this threat marking the city and we're going to need fresh eyes on it. Take the rest of the day and rest up and we'll start fresh tomorrow," I tried. "I'll get you set up in med bay."

"Well, if it's all the same and I'm just going to be lying around, I'd rather be at home with Charlie."

"I understand, as long as you're taking it easy," I said.

Rae nodded. "I'm just going to get changed, I don't want this to be a thing though. I don't want people worrying over me or this."

"Okay, same. We don't need everyone knowing our best tech agent almost poisoned our newest recruit. I'll meet you at the desk when you're ready."

I watched as Rae slowly walked down the hall to the locker rooms, before heading back to my office. I pulled off my workout gear and changed into the standard black polo. Fixing my hair, I pulled out my phone. There was a message from the next woman I was supposed to meet for dinner. Truth was, I had just booked my nights up so I didn't have to spend them alone in my apartment. As much as I matched with these women on a site, I could never match on an emotional level because I couldn't let myself be over Maggie.

"Okay, ready?" I heard from behind me as I walked back out into the hall. Rae had her bag hanging from her shoulder and was back in her formal suit from earlier.

"Yeah, here. Let me take that for you," I said, taking the bag from her shoulder.

"Oh no, that's okay," Rae tried to stop me. I twisted so she couldn't grab the bag.

"You know, it's okay to accept help every now and again. It won't hurt." Rae smirked and nodded. "You feeling okay?"

"Just a little weak at the moment," she admitted. I opened the DEO vehicle door and helped her inside. I figured getting her to ride on the back of my bike, wouldn't be the best decision, given her current state.

"I appreciate the ride home. I'm discovering that obtaining a drivers license in National City isn't as easy as I thought," admitted Rae.

"How have you been getting to work?" I asked.

"I usually run into work in the morning and mornings I'm running late I take a cab. It hasn't been too bad," she said, subtlety trying to adjust her shoulder where her inhibitor was.

"Why didn't you say something? We can issue you a drivers license," I said, making a note to make that happen. "You've captained a space ship, I think you can drive a car."

"I don't like to make more work for others, I can make my way through the process," stated Rae.

I rolled my eyes. "Eventually you're going to have to see that we work as a team at the DEO. We ask each other for help and favours because we know we can rely on one another and not be putting the other people out when we do," I explained.

"I have seen that. I just wanted to earn my way on to the team before I just start...asking for things," she replied.

"We're happy to help. Plus, you've proven yourself. We haven't seen Supergirl this happy in the last seven months. It should be us owing you," I said.

"Thank you."

The rest of the drive was quiet, I thought I saw Rae's eyes flutter shut every once and awhile. I pulled up to her driveway and came around to help her out of the SUV. When she reached for her bag, I gave her a smirk. She put her hands up and surrendered to my help. We walked to her front door.

"My mother had her concerns about living with inhibitors permanently. I'd hate to have to tell her she's right," implied Rae before opening the door.

"Got it," I said, smiling at the sentiment.

We stepped inside and could smell fresh baked cookies and hear giggles coming from further inside. Then little blonde curls appeared from around the corner.

"Hey Sunshine!" Rae greeted. Charlie peaked around the corner and saw me.

"Hey Charlie," I tried. She smiled, shyly.

"Do I get a hug?" asked Rae, trying to coax her out of hiding. Charlie smiled again and pulled herself up, so she was standing and holding on to the doorframe. "Come give Mama a hug!"

Charlie took a step so she was standing by herself.

"Oh my gosh!" squealed Rae! "She took a step!" Rae turned to me, "did you see that? She took a step!" Rae turned back to Charlie. "Atta girl! Come to Mama! Take another step!"

"What's happening?" her mom came into the hall to see her granddaughter standing by herself.

"Has this been happening all morning? Did I miss her first steps?" asked Rae, holding her arms out to Charlie.

"No! These are firsts!" exclaimed Mrs. Gand.

Charlie took more steps and everyone cheered.

"I can't believe it! Do you have a camera?" Rae asked turning to me. I quickly pulled out my phone to video Charlie's first steps. She was so cute, all proud of herself and Rae was beside herself. Charlie took another couple steps and then fell on her bum before looking at her mom and me, clapping.

"Yay!" I said, waving at her. Rae scooped her up and twirled her around.

"Good job baby girl! You walked all by yourself! What a big girl! Give me five!" The two high fived and Charlie held her hand out to me. I moved closer and high fived her little hand.

"Way to go kiddo!" I said, I couldn't help but share the same huge smile Rae and her mother were wearing. Charlie reached her arms out towards me. I quickly tucked my phone away and reached out to take her in my arms. "Hi rock star! You're a big kid now huh?" She mumbled something back to me and pulled on the collar of my shirt.

"Well, good thing you guys walked in!" said Mrs. Gand. "How come you're home so early?"

"Oh, um," stuttered Rae, trying not to admit that her inhibitor acted up.

"Oh! That's my fault, I forgot I have meetings the rest of the afternoon, so I offered to give Rae a ride home," I said, bouncing Charlie.

"Oh, well that was nice of you Agent Danvers, how have you been?" answered Rae's mom.

"Very well, Mrs. Gand, thank you. Please, just Alex. How about yourself? Have you been settling in okay?" I asked, passing Charlie back to Rae, as she reached for her mom.

"It's been lovely, thank you Alex. It's been nice to see Rae doing something she always enjoyed," she said, walking back into the kitchen. "You guys going to make me eat these cookies on my own?"

"Do you have time for a snack?" Rae asked, putting Charlie back down on her feet.

"Sure," I answered, unable to hide the joy I was feeling. Charlie held one of Rae's hands and reached out for one of mine before pulling us into the kitchen.

* * *

I arrived home from my dinner with the match from online. She was nice and seemed super impressed that I worked for the FBI. It was hard having to lie about a huge piece of my life. That was a perk of being with Maggie; she knew everything about me. I could just be me. I walked to the cupboard to grab a wine glass and silently chided myself for once again comparing something else Maggie. My phone buzzed on the table and I saw Kara's name. I sat down to reply to her message about my date. But found myself scrolling through the pictures of Rae and Charlie. I watched the video of her first steps once again. I couldn't tell who was more excited: Charlie or Rae. They both had huge grins. They each took turns looking at the camera during the video and when it ended, I found I had the same smile. This was how I wanted to spend my time, looking into the eyes of someone whose love is unconditional from the start. The way Charlie looked at Rae, I wanted that and I could almost feel that when Charlie reached for my hand. For the first time, I was starting to realize that maybe I had made the right decision.

* * *

"Agent Gand, thanks for coming in," said J'onn. "We have just discovered that the recent murders have been confirmed; heat vision. Kara went to see Coville earlier today and he mentioned many of the same aspects that you could recall. We were just wondering if you were able to remember anything else?"

"I wasn't, sorry sir. But I've been following the story, if anything else jumps out you'll be the first to know," I said.

"Coville is a fanatic, not a prophet," stated Kara.

"The two don't have to be exclusive, many of the things he said correlate with what Rae remembers hearing on Daxam. That can't be a coincidence," continued J'onn.

"The moment you start believing in something is the moment you give your power away. I'm not doing that. So what we know about this Kryptonian is that she's a pretender. I beat Kal down to the ground, I'll beat her too."

I saw the look on Alex's face as she watched her sister walk away. I couldn't help but feel the same concern she was feeling for her. This was bigger than anything Mon-el had said he'd seen at the DEO. I walked over to Alex as Mon-el chased after Kara.

"She'll be fine. After all the stories I've heard from Mon-el. Supergirl isn't afraid of anything," I said, hoping to give her some comfort.

"That's what worries me," she told me.

I walked to med bay, wanting to make sure everything was stocked before whatever was about to happen happened. I started pulling equipment and supplies when the call came in. The world killer was waiting for Supergirl. I stepped out into the hall to see agents running and getting into teams.

"How can I help?" I asked Alex, after seeing Supergirl fly off after talking with her.

"Stay here, be ready for whatever we might bring back," said Alex, walking with purpose to head her strike team.

"Ten. Four," I answered, heading back to med bay and gathering supplies to load into an emergency pack, in case I was called out on scene. Once I had everything and felt prepared I walked out to the desks to see Winn.

"Hey, have you heard anything yet?" I asked.

"Yeah," he answered, looking the most solemn, which was a side of him I had yet to see. "It's not going well. She's too strong for Supergirl, I don't understand how she's gaining her strength." He started searching through his computer to find, what looked like, anything.

"It's a battle of wills right now and good always wins," I squeezed his shoulder, hoping to ease his mind. "Just have to stay positive."

He didn't answer and I wasn't sure how much even I believed what I had just said. I started pacing around the desk, until I saw that it was bothering some of the other techs. I excused myself for some air and headed to the balcony that overlooked National City.

"Hey," said Mon-el, leaning against the railing with me.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" I asked, realizing that if I was feeling on edge, he must be going out of his mind.

"I hate being left behind, I should be out there, to have her back," he said, frustrated.

"The person you described while we were up on the ship didn't sound like someone who needed a lot of help. She sounded like a strong woman who got things done."

"I know, but you don't understand the feeling of that one person you truly care about, out there, risking her life. We don't know enough about this threat. She just went in there blind and alone."

"You're right, I'm sorry," I said, leaning against him. "I'm here for you though."

"Thanks, I am glad you're back in my life. I missed having you around."

"Rae!" Winn called, I turned immediately. "They need you ready, ETA is four minutes out."

I nodded and looked at Mon-el before walking towards Winn.

"It doesn't look good," his voice trembled, when we were out of earshot. I grabbed a pair of gloves and headed towards the doors. I didn't have to wait long before agents were everywhere and they were pulling a gurney towards me. Once we were on our way to med bay, the agents thinned out. Alex didn't take her eyes off Supergirl. My motions were all so robotic; I had seen these injuries countless times before. I checked her pulse while Alex began hooking her up to monitors.

"Her pulse is weak," I called out, glancing at the EKG that started beeping erratically as soon as it was hooked up. "She's crashing."

"We need to intubate," stated Alex. I handed her the tools for the procedure and assisted. If Alex was scared, she never showed it. Her hands were steady the whole time, unwavering. Our actions were perfectly in sync, when I passed her the tube she was there to take it. She slid the tube into Kara's throat and I attached the bag to pump into her chest. Mon-el and Winn followed us into med bay and were watching in horror. Their actions couldn't affect us, we had a job to do and that was to save Supergirl.

"Stay with me, Kara. Stay with me," I heard Alex say, softly. We watched the monitors as they continued to run crazy, still pumping the bag methodically; we waited for them to settle. The room had fallen silent and all eyes were on the screens. Slowly, they levelled out and Alex checked her pulse. "Pulse is getting stronger."

I saw Alex take the first full breath of air since she had walked in.

"We need to get her breathing hooked up," she said, watching me pumping the air into her sister's chest.

"Right away," I answered. While I busied myself with that, Alex reached for her sisters' hand. She looked towards Mon-el. "She's stable, for now."

He nodded before leaving. He never was very good with coping. The rest of the agents in the room cleared.

"I want hourly updates," said J'onn behind me.

"Yes sir," I agreed.

Knowing Alex wouldn't leave her beside, I moved to ready a bed with sun lamps. The faster we could get her under those the faster that would aid in her recovery. I wanted to give her a little longer, just to make sure she was stable before moving her. When I turned back Alex was dressing her head lacerations.

"Alex," I said quietly, "I can do that."

She nodded; her will to keep it together was, understandably, fumbling. She handed me the gauze, her hand now shaking. I let my hand linger on hers. "We'll do everything we can, she's going to be okay."

I used the saline solution to wash off the blood that had been spilt during the battle. Supergirl never bled, so I'm sure the sight of it wasn't making this easier for anyone. I wanted to find Mon-el and make sure he was okay, but not now; Supergirl needed us.


	3. Chapter 3

I checked Supergirl's vitals one more time. She still hadn't woken up since her run in with Reign and Alex hadn't left her side. Everything still appeared to be normal. Under the sun lamps, all her physical wounds had healed. It was just up to her mind to overcome whatever it was going through. I looked over at Alex who had fallen asleep on the bed next to her sister. I grabbed another blanket and covered her up and left them to rest. I wasn't sure the last time either of us had been out of the Med Bay, so I took the chance to go check in with Mon-el.

"Rae?" called J'onn. "How's everything looking?"

"Everything is still stable Sir."

"Good. Where's your cousin?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen him since we were unable to wake her. I wanted to have a word with him, so if I see him, I'll be sure to let him know to come find you," I offered.

"Good. I'd appreciate that," he turned and headed in the opposite direction.

I headed to the training rooms to see if I could find him there; I figured he'd be somewhere blowing off steam, but the training rooms were empty. I ended up searching most of the DEO before I found him coming down from the roof.

"Hey, where have you been?" I asked him, as he tried to brush past me.

"I had to call in a favour."

"Mon-el, wait," I said, catching up to him. "A favour to who?" Before he could answer, a being with a blue face walked in.

"There's an eighty-nine point three seven four chance that someone will crash that ship if they try to move it. Can I leave it there? Or should I just move it myself?"

I looked at Mon-el, silently asking him what the hell, without saying anything.

"Rae, this is Brainiac-5. I met him after I left Daxam, both our ships were thrown off course and we ended up in the same wormhole. He and his crew allowed me to dock aboard their ship to avoid the rougher turbulence of the disruption. They needed some help with their ship and I offered. He told me that if I ever needed help, I could always call him. He's from the future," explained Mon-el. I looked back at Brainiac-5.

"The thirty first century to be exact. I'm half computer, half organic life form. All Coluan, and not to brag, but a twelfth level intellect."

"He'll be able to monitor Kara's mind. He can check to make sure her neural pathways are clear and intact."

"Wait, if he's from the future; the thirty first century to be exact," I looked at Brainiac. "Then how were you able to reach him?"

"When I left him, he gave me this ring. He said when the time was right, I might be able to join him on his mission. He and his crew have formed a legion of superheroes, they protect various planets. But I ended up finding Kara and I gave up any thought of returning to them without her. After seeing what she does here on Earth, I knew she would never leave."

"Okay, so you should be able to wake her up then?" I said, turning my attention back to the visitor.

"Well, I should be able to at least offer some guidance, yes," he said. "May I also suggest that we move her to the ship. We'll be able to preserve whatever hasn't been damaged and allow for the rest to heal while she is in hyper-sleep."

"Right. Well, Agent Danvers is going to want to hear this," I said, heading back to Med Bay. Alex was still sleeping when I walked in. I walked to the side of her bed and gently nudged her arm.

"Alex?" I said, trying not to alarm her.

"Is there change?" she asked, almost before opening her eyes.

"No. No change yet," I said, looking over at Supergirl.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"Just a couple of hours," I confirmed. I watched as she got out of bed and took her sisters hand. "Alex," I said quietly, "Mon-el's called in a favour. He knows of a crew, they're from the future. It's a long story but the technology they have may help Kara. They want to move her to their ship that's on the premises. Brainy says their hyper-sleep therapy has great healing effects. It'll help to heal her and he's able to monitor her mind and check for damage we can't see."

"How do we know we can trust these people?" she asked.

"We don't," I answered honestly. "But, I do trust that Mon-el wants nothing but the best for Kara and for her to wake up. So I feel like it's at least worth a shot, it's better than just waiting."

"Okay, but I want one of us with her at all times," she said, finally lifting her gaze to me.

"Understood," I agreed, as I started preparing Supergirl for transport.

* * *

Moments later, we stood in front of a large tank that had submerged Kara. Brainy had synced up with her mind and was checking for neurological damage. If she had some, her chances of waking decreased greatly.

"Well, the good news is that her mind is alive and alert," announced Brainy, after being silent for a moment.

"Oh, thank god," I let out. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath while waiting.

"The bad news is, she's very angry," he continued.

"When will she wake up?" J'onn asked.

"There's no way to know," he said, turning to Rae who was busy trying to familiarize herself with the new monitors. "But we can monitor basically every movement, every neural firing, every heartbeat with this technology."

"Without Supergirl, I don't like our odds against Reign," stated J'onn.

"What's your call?" I asked.

"Sundown protocol," he answered. "A highly classified contingency plan, to take down Superman if he was to ever turns against us. Red sun grenades, sound bombs, kryptonite darts. Everything we need to take down a rogue Kryptonian on the loose."

"Clark got rid of all the kryptonite," pointed out Winn.

"Clark got rid of it for a reason, a reason Kara agreed to," I stated.

"That was before Reign," argued J'onn. "We still have Coville's probe right?"

Despite the internal battle I was having with myself, I agreed. "Prep whatever you have to. I want this to end."

Everyone agreed and left to go do what they needed to; I stayed with Kara. Hoping to gain some clarity before I left, I put my hand on the glass willing her to wake up.

"Still nothing?" I asked, over my shoulder to Rae and Brainy who were still huddled over the desk.

"Unfortunately, she's ready. But it seems as though something is holding her back. The tank should've made this an easy re-entry," explained Brainy.

"What happens if she stays like this?" I asked.

"The longer she remains unconscious, the more likely it is to become permanent," answered Brainy.

I was getting frustrated and I could feel my hope slipping from my grasp. I needed to do something; I couldn't just sit around and wait. Rae looked up at Brainy's admission of things not going well. She stopped doing what she was doing and walked over to me.

"Agent Danvers, may I have a word outside please?" she asked, holding the door out to the hall of the ship. It felt twenty degrees cooler in the hall.

"We just put her in there and we just learned that her neural pathways are clear. We need to give her body time to heal and catch up," said Rae, standing in front of the door and giving me a second to regain my emotions.

"I know, I just," I started, but I could feel myself losing control. I took a deep breath and put my hands on my head. I looked at Rae and sighed, trying to hold myself together. She moved closer and touched my arm. "I have to go, we're executing Sundown protocol."

"I think I could be an asset if I joined you," offered Rae.

"I agree," I said, taking one last look at Kara before we left.

* * *

I had changed out of DEO scrubs and into similar attire to Alex.

"What? No polo?" asked Alex, when I joined them in the armoury.

"I've just noticed that polo's are kind of your thing," I said, hiding my amusement.

"So you went with a long sleeve tshirt? That's not going to be functional at all," she argued.

I shrugged, "Winn said it's lightweight Kevlar."

"How did another newbie get cooler clothes before me again?" questioned Alex.

"Okay team. How about some focus on the task at hand? I just had a horrible conversation about James and his kissing abilites. So I'm really looking forward to this take down," said J'onn.

Everyone laughed as they geared up. We went over our last minute details and headed out. It wasn't long before we were standing inside the bank and Reign had joined us. She fell perfectly into our trap. The next few seconds were like a flash. It had been a while since I had been in the field and the shock of it all came back quick. I tried refocusing as Alex through the red star grenade. It blew Reign back twenty feet; the team had her down like lightning. They almost moved together like a well-rehearsed dance. Alex moved closer to apply the kryptonite around her neck. I felt a rush of relief knowing we had her. That feeling didn't last long. Reign grabbed the rope and whipped both agents holding her down across the room. Alex stood frozen in front of her.

"Alex!" I yelled, but I was too late. She had wrapped the rope around Alex's leg and dangled her flat to her back. She pulled the rope back to attack again and I felt my body lurch forward. I shielded Alex from the rope that was targeted to her neck and it snaked around my arm instead. I pulled on the rope and knocked Reign off balance and J'onn came in with a punch that sent her flying against the wall. When she stood up, she glared at Alex before taking off.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my hands going to her leg.

"I think it's broken," she said, lying back down. "I think I'm going to throw up."

I reached for my bag, finding everything that I needed to get Alex back to the DEO. "I'm going to splint your leg so we can get you ready for transport."

"Okay, let's give them some room," ordered J'onn. "Let's get everything packed and move out ASAP."

I looked around to see that everyone had followed orders. "Here, take this," I said, offering some pain medication. I reached down to the pulse in her ankle to check for arterial damage.

"I can't be in an altered state of mind right now. I need to be coherent," she stated.

"The pain is only going to get worse until we get it stable and elevated," I tried. "Pain also alters the mind. I think the DEO will understand your situation."

Grudgingly, she took it. I stabilized her leg the best I could with what we had and I looked around for help to get her off the floor. "Okay, let's try to get to the SUV. I'm going to pull you up, do not attempt any weight on that leg. Just lean on me."

Alex nodded and held out her hand to be pulled up. Once stable on her good leg, I wrapped my arm around her waist and supported her other side. She threw her arm around my neck and leaned into me as she prepared to hobble along. "Okay, lets just take this slow." Alex laughed a little as she struggled.

"I got you," I assured her.

"I know," she answered. "I'm glad you were here. This could've been much worse and way more embarrassing."

We both laughed. I helped her up in to the vehicle where J'onn was waiting to take us back. "Lets go home," he said.

The ride back to the DEO was rough. Alex tried to hide it but every bump caused her to wince. When we arrived, Brainy was able to apply a splint that gently eased the bones back in place bit by bit and I was able to cast it not long after.

We were just finishing up her cast when J'onn walked in with Mon-el and Winn.

"How's it feel?" asked Mon-el.

"Like my tibia was snapped in half and stretched back together," she said, lightly.

"Can I sign it?" asked Winn.

"Not until it's dry," I interrupted. "That's like art right there."

"I don't understand," said Alex, "that much kryptonite left Supergirl incapacitated."

"Maybe she's not solely Kryptonian," offered J'onn.

"Brainy has told me stories of the insane hybrids they have fought. They were designed for maximum destruction," said Mon-el. "Maybe she's just the strength for someone else's plan."

"No, the soil did hurt her. Just not enough," said Alex, thinking it through.

"Do you have a plan?" asked J'onn.

"Concentrate it," she answered. "Put it straight in her bloodstream. Jugular should work."

"There's just a tiny hiccup with that plan," chimed in Winn. "Who's strong enough to administer that shot?"

"I'll do it," offered Mon-el, without hesitation.

"I'll back him up," I added.

"Let me do this for Kara. Let me be the hero she knows I can be."

J'onn looked at Alex, silently debating. I saw Alex nod, before J'onn spoke.

"Okay, suit up," said the director.

Everyone left to prepare for the next mission and I started cleaning up from the plaster.

"Well, this is going to throw a huge wrench into everyday tasks," she said, leaning against the bed. "Not a bad job though Agent Gand."

"Well, I'm glad you like it," I said, handing her a pair of crutches. "No weight on it."

"Of course," she said, adjusting the sticks.

"Can I help you with anything? Do you need anything for the pain?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't take it anyway.

"I think I'm good for now," she said, with a small smile. "I think I'm just going to go sit with Kara, since I'm no good to anyone now."

"Okay, I'm just going to clean up and I'll head over to check her latest scans," I said.

By the time I cleaned up, Alex was sitting next to Kara's bedside. I could hear her talking as I got closer and I stopped when I realized she was talking to her sister.

"I did this," she said, a tear falling. "I told you Kara Danvers was my favourite person and then I told you to forget who you are. And now, I'm not sure we can do this without you."

I felt for Alex, I couldn't imagine having a loved one lying in front of you and not being able to do anything but wait. I coughed a bit when I stepped into Med Bay so Alex knew I was there.

"Hey, how is she?"

"Good, everything looks good," she answered, wiping at her tears. "I couldn't check the monitors because I couldn't get back there with my crutches but she's got a strong pulse and blood pressure is good."

I moved over to the monitors. "Yeah, everything still looks strong. Hopefully it won't be long now," I said, trying to sound positive and moving beside her to take a look at Kara's pupils.

"Hey, how's your arm?" asked Alex.

It took me a second before I remembered Reign wrapping the rope around my arm. I pulled up my sleeve and saw no marks. "Fine," I said, a little shocked. "Come to think of it, I only felt the force when I pulled it. It was a weird feeling."

"Good, um, also, thank you," she said, touching my arm. "For having my back out there, usually that's Supergirl's job."

"Of course," I answered. She looked up from her seat and we locked eyes. At that moment, something fluttered in my stomach. I smiled, just as Winn came in over our earpieces.

"She's hitting Albatross Bay! We need to get there now!"

"I have to go," I said, not wanting to pull away.

"Yeah. I'll see you when you get back," she said, brushing her hair back. "Just, you know, be careful."

"I will," I turned and headed towards the door.

"Like really careful, more than my careful," she called.

* * *

I watched Rae leave and sat back down beside Kara. I realized I had a small, goofy smile that I couldn't shake and my stomach was still in knots. Rae made me feel something I had been afraid to feel since Maggie. It scared me but I was happy to be able to feel it again.

Brainy came in and interrupted my thoughts. "I have a feed running with Mon-el, I thought maybe you'd like to stay updated?"

"Yes, I would. Thanks," I answered, as he pulled a chair up beside me.

"I can control the ship from here and offer back up while they're fighting. I've already taken her down twice but she's fighting through everything they throw at her."

I watched the screen he worked on while listening to his play by play. "She tried freezing Mon-el but Rae threw a weight at her and knocked her off balance. J'onn is trying to knock her down. Rae is over trying to punch Mon-el free from the ice block and Reign just heat visioned her clean across the yard into the side of the building."

Listening was just giving me anxiety while I waited for the end. I looked away trying to calm my nerves and I heard a gasp. When I looked back at Brainy was staring at Kara, whose eyes had opened.

"Oh my god, Kara."

"I have to help them," she said, her voice was weak.

"No, they're using kyroptonite. You can't," I argued.

"I don't care if it makes me vulnerable. I'll use it against her," she said, trying to sit up.

"Reign won't see it coming," I said, realizing this might help us but torn because I knew she shouldn't be fighting. She got up and headed out. I knew with my leg, I wouldn't be able to stop her. "Mon-el has the syringe, the kryptonite is concentrated!"

I looked at Brainy while he controlled the ship. I waited for his commentary to pick up but he was so focused on the action he wasn't saying anything.

"I'll cover you, you get the syringe!" he announced, talking to Supergirl. I hated not being out there, not knowing what was going on.

Eventually, Brainy blew out a loud sigh and said they were on their way back but it felt like time was standing still. We waited at the desks for the four to enter. Supergirl, Mon-el and J'onn flew in and landed softly on the balcony, while Rae jumped over its ledge shortly after.

"Everyone okay?" Winn asked.

"Yeah, not bad," J'onn answered.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Supergirl administered the shot and Reign took off, looking wounded," answered Mon-el.

"She had a look in her eye this time, I've never seen it before," added Supergirl.

"Well, lets hope she needs enough time to recover for us to come up with a better game plan," said J'onn. "For now, let's get some rest so we can come back fresh and ready to come up with something new."

I saw Supergirl leave with Mon-el and I made my way over to Rae.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked. "I heard you took quite the blow."

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks," she answered, unzipping her jacket and lifting her shirt. "I mean, it didn't feel great being thrown through a wall but I don't see anything where I felt the twinge."

I held her shirt while she turned a bit so I could see her back. Her body was well toned I noticed.

"Is there something back there?" she asked, making realize I was staring.

"Um, no," I said, dropping her shirt. "Looks good."

"Oh good," Rae answered. "Well, I should probably get home. Hopefully, I can catch a cuddle before Charlie's out for the night. Are you okay getting home? Can I give you a lift? I just got my DEO issued license and access to one of their rides!"

"I should be okay. I'm going to check on Supergirl," I said, smiling and leaning on my crutches. "Give Charlie a hug for me though."

"I will, have a good night," said Rae, walking past me, towards the locker room.

"Good night." I watched her walk into the locker room before heading in the direction I saw Kara leave. She was just saying good night to Mon-el.

"Hey," she said, looping her arm through mine. "Wine?"

"Yes! Please," I said, leaning against her. "It's been a very long day."

We headed back to Kara's apartment and she got us drinks while I got comfy on the couch.

"So, you're feeling okay?" I asked, accepting a glass from her.

"Yeah, you know I always come back," she answered.

"I wasn't so sure," I said, taking a sip of wine. "I was scared this time."

"Well, you look like you should've been preoccupied," she said, also taking a sip and pointing to my leg. "I want to sign that by the way."

"Yeah, I'm lucky it's just my leg and not my neck."

"Really? Why would you guys attempt something so dangerous? How did you get away from her?" she asked.

"I didn't. I mean, I couldn't," I pointed to my leg. "Rae jumped in front of me and shielded me. Reign ended up roping Rae's arm and she pulled her off balance. Then J'onn sent her flying. The pain from my leg was so bad it made me feel sick to my stomach. Rae went right into action, she didn't even hesitate."

Kara smiled while listening. "Well, it's easy to jump into the line of danger when it's someone you care about. This whole situation has made me think about the whole Mon-el situation. We just jumped back into where we were but I feel like when he left, it forced me to grow from it and I don't think I'm the same person. I had to tell him that I want to start over and go slow. We need to get to know each other again."

"I know what you mean," I answered. "After Maggie, it felt like I'd never be able to find those feelings again. But you're right, those situations force you to change your perspective and appreciate different things. I've had to figure that out and I'm still finding the things I appreciate about myself."

"You mean appreciating things like how hot Rae looks in her official DEO gear?" grinned Kara. I threw a pillow at her. "She does make you feel some type of way though right? Because you guys click pretty well together, work or otherwise."

"I did touch her arm to say thanks after she worked on my leg and it felt like my stomach was going to knot itself. But I just left it because my mind started racing, thinking that I could find those feelings again. It almost felt like I was getting closure from everything, but I'm still not sure if I'm in the right place to be starting something new and that wouldn't be fair to anyone."

"Has Rae been sending out signals?"

I laughed, "they could be signals I guess. I know she cares about me as a friend. But she's a caring person in general, so it could be in my head. I don't know and I definitely don't want to be rejected again. Why is dating so hard?"

"Well, it wouldn't be worth it if it was easy," said Kara. "I think you'll know when you meet the right person. It'll all just click for you."

"I'm so glad you're back. I missed you, I missed this," I said, leaning over and hugging her.


	4. Chapter 4

J'onn had called to say they had a plan in the works and that he'd call us in when they had more. It was nice to have a couple days with Charlie. We went out into the city to see what kind of trouble we could get into. We were able to stop by the park and the aquarium and give Grandma a bit of a break.

We were out for a walk when we bumped into Kara and her friends.

"Rae! Hi, how are you?" asked Kara, as she reached out for a hug.

"I'm good thanks, how are you?" I asked.

"I've been good as well, thanks. Rae, these are my friends, Lena Luther and Sam Arius," she introduced. They both extended a hand.

"Hi, yes. We've met a time or two at the bar," I said, shaking both their hands again. "It's nice to see you both again."

"Then maybe you guys don't remember this cutie, Charlie," said Kara, bending down to say hi. "Hi Sweet Girl, how are you?" Charlie tried to hide her face and play shy. "Are you guys just out for a stroll?"

"Yeah, just thought we'd let Grandma have a day. We're still taking in the sights," I said, looking back at Charlie.

"Surely you must be getting tired of the sights by now. Haven't you been here for three or four months?" asked Lena.

I looked at Kara forgetting the whole story I was using as a cover. "Oh, yes, of course. But you know how it is, with work. Just been so busy, I haven't had much time to take Charlie to the touristy things."

"I know how that is, some people's bosses right?" joked Sam.

"Well, speaking of work. We should probably get going if we're going to give Kara that exclusive on our new research," said Lena.

"Well, it was great seeing you guys again," I offered, stepping to the side with the stroller.

"Hey, we're having game night tonight. If you want to stop by my place, I'll get Alex to text you the details?" offered Kara.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Can I bring something?" I asked.

"Just a competitive attitude! It gets pretty cut throat," she joked, waving good-bye to Charlie.

About a half hour later, Alex text to say she was happy to hear about me joining game night and the address to her sisters place. After texting her back, I pushed Charlie home with that same ridiculous smile I had when Alex's name popped up on my phone. As I was walking up the driveway, Mon-el walked up behind me.

"Hey," I said, waiting for him to catch up.

"Hey, isn't it a little cold to be out for a walk?" he asked, taking a peak to see if Charlie was awake.

"It was a little brisk," I agree, smiling when I saw him pick her up out of the stroller.

"So a game night invite huh? You must be making quite the waves down at the DEO, not just anyone gets those," he said, rocking Charlie side to side, then up and down. "Hi!" he smiled a huge, goofy smile to make her laugh.

"What can I say, I'm a pretty big deal!" I teased.

"Well, I was just out for a run and wanted to see if you wanted to head over together?" He said in a funny voice, finally making Charlie giggle.

"Sure, that sounds good. Why are you running?" I asked, confused about why a Daxamite would need exercise when there was a yellow sun.

"Just trying to clear my head," he said, going back to rocking Charlie, who had put her head down on his shoulder.

"Something you want to talk about?" I asked.

"It's nothing," he answered. We were both quiet while I waited for him to realize he did want to talk about it. "Well, Kara just thinks we should slow things down and get to know one another again. She thinks she may have changed once she lost me, that the situation caused her to grow, I guess. Which I agree with, I changed a little too; hopefully for the better. I'm just worried that maybe this time around she'll realize she's too good for me, or that she doesn't actually like me."

"For something that's nothing, that sure is a lot of thought on it," I said, bumping his shoulder once we sat down on the top step. "What's not to like? You're still that funny, caring guy she fell for at first. If anything, trying to catch up to me again has matured you a bit."

"Very funny," he said, pulling Charlie in close to him.

"I mean, look at this, you're basically a girlfriend magnet right here. Where's your phone? I'll take a picture," he laughed and rolled his eyes again. "I think taking things slow and getting to know one another is a good idea. This time there's nothing standing between you guys."

"I missed being able to talk to you the most, I'm glad we found each other again," he said. "What about you? You've been working pretty close to Alex lately."

"Ugh, Alex," I said, leaning back against the stairs. "I think I like her."

"Yeah?" smirked Mon-el. "Why haven't you said anything?"

"I don't know," I looked at Charlie. "I guess because it's harder to put your heart out there when it's not just yours anymore."

"Charlie's just over a year old, who's going to break her heart?" he asked, looking down at the sweet baby who had fallen asleep in his arms.

"Someone already has," I answered.

* * *

"Hi!" I greeted, opening Kara's door to Rae and Mon-el.

"Hey, we heard scotch was the ticket in," said Rae, holding up a bottle.

"Oh, that's not necessary but totally welcomed. Thank you," I said, accepting the bottle. "Actually, maybe you should hold it." I said handing it back and holding onto my crutches.

"Ah, yes. Sorry," she smiled, stepping in. Mon-el hugged me and went to find Kara.

"So, how's Charlie doing? Is she running yet?" I asked, reaching a glass down from the cupboard. I poured Rae a drink as she set her jacket down with the others.

"Yeah, just twelve second sprints around the house," she joked. "Thanks for sending those videos and pictures to me. I'm really glad you were there to get it."

"Yeah, me too. I'm glad I got to be there," I smiled, passing her the glass. "Cheers."

"Thanks, cheers," she answered, clinking my own glass. "So, just how cut throat do they get here?"

We turned looking into the living room where the two other couples sat. "Usually depends on how many drinks we can get into them before we start."

"Well then, I guess another round wouldn't hurt," she grinned, bringing the bottle with us.

"Guys, you remember Rae?" I said, as we joined the group. "You know Lena, but have you met James Olson?"

"Yes, Winn introduced us with a mouth full of chicken wings," she answered, shaking his hand again.

"Speaking of Winn, where is he?" asked Mon-el.

"I think he mentioned getting called into work," answered Kara. "But that's okay, because now we're at even numbers! We'll just play couples, sound good?"

I gave my sister a quick look before everyone turned their attention back to Rae and I. "Well, I'm glad you came. Maybe this time I'll actually be on a winning team."

Rae smiled, "maybe we should keep pouring drinks then." She filled everyone's glasses before taking a seat on the foot bench with me. We were sitting close enough that our legs were touching and I could feel the butterflies starting to act up.

"Okay, name of the game is charades! One person from each couple will draw to see the order and then we'll start," said Kara, passing around the hat. I wanted to kick her every time she obviously called us a couple.

Both Rae and I turned and started talking at the same time, followed by coinciding apologies.

"I just wanted to apologize," said Rae. "I'm not very good at games. I was more of a dancer at parties. And not a very good dancer, so don't get any ideas there either."

I laughed, "it's okay, but I think for every answer we get wrong. I should get to see a move."

We were both smiling when Kara brought the hat to us. Rae motioned for me to pick and I reached in to grab the last number. "Number one," I announced, holding out the piece of paper. We both made a face. "I really just came for a drink and the company, should I have mentioned that before?" asked Rae.

"Okay, Alex picked the number, Rae picks first," said Kara.

I watched as Rae stood, finishing the last of her drink and picked from the hat. She looked and asked if I was ready. At my nod, she held up three fingers.

"Three words," I answered. Watching Rae pause for a second to think about what next.

"Timers ticking!" teased Mon-el.

After a quick look at the timer, Rae immediately made a show of trying to stuff imaginary food into her mouth and shirt.

"I love Lucy!" I shouted, standing up and pointing.

"Yes!" shouted Rae, laughing and holding up a hand to high five. I returned it and we took our seat again.

"You know, I have been told we do make a pretty awesome team," said Rae, leaning back with her arm slightly behind me.

"I'm starting to see that," I agreed.

"Whatever, beginners luck!" taunted James, reaching for the hat. "Okay, watch and learn!"

Before he could pick, my phone along with Rae and Mon-els all rang with a text. They looked up at me and held their phones up.

"Sorry guys, work calls," said Rae. I looked at Supergirl wondering how she was going to get out of here without alerting Lena. But James spoke up.

"Actually, I just got a text saying someone found a break in one of our lead stories. I should head out as well," he said, standing. "Can I take you home before I head in?" He asked Lena, who nodded.

"Well, that cuts that game night short pretty quick," announced Kara. "Guess it'll just be Alex and I practicing for the rest of the night."

James and Lena said their goodbyes and made their way out into the hall.

"Guess we can take the quick way in then?" asked Kara, looking at Mon-el and Rae. They both agreed and walked towards the window. "You'll be okay?" Kara asked, looking back at me.

"Yeah, I'll just clean up and probably stay here," I said.

"Thanks for having me," said Rae, walking past me to meet up with the others. She leaned in and kissed my cheek. "I had a great time."

"Yeah, me too. I'll keep you posted for the next one, since we're reigning champs now," I teased, feeling the blush creep up to where she had touched.

"Yeah right! Game called on account of Reign!" quipped Kara.

Rae smiled before jumping over the balcony and following the other two into the night. I felt like I was in high school again, almost wanted to squeal with excitement, almost. Rae definitely made me feel something, now I just had to get over my fear of rejection.

* * *

I told Mon-el and Supergirl to go ahead without me. I wanted to check in at home quickly. I snuck in to give Charlie a kiss goodnight and grabbed my workbag.

Moments later when I reached the DEO, Director Jones and Winn had already informed the group that they had a plan to get us on Fort Rozz. They had found that there was a priestess there that had information on the Worldkillers and possibly their plan. The only problem was they had discovered that the star Fort Rozz was orbiting was a blue star and Supergirl wouldn't have her powers. The other issue was the star was deadly to anyone who carried a Y chromosome. This didn't leave us many options.

"I'll go," I said, the moment they filled me in.

"You're in the same boat, you'll have no powers as well," said J'onn.

"Well, at least there will be medical backup. I'm also trained in hand-to-hand combat, as well as many weapons. I think I'll be able to handle myself," I argued.

"I'll take all the back up I can take," said Supergirl. "I think I know a few more ladies who could help. Give me the night to figure this out and we'll leave first thing."

The next day, we had a bigger issue. It wasn't a hundred percent how we were exactly going to get to Fort Rozz. "J'onn's ship won't be big enough if you're taking others," said Winn.

"We can take our ship," I offered.

"That ship is too slow, it would take too long for you guys to get there," said Mon-el.

We all waited a moment before looking at Brainy. He looked up at us and did a double take when he saw us all looking at him.

"You want to take my ship?" he asked. "No, no. Absolutely not. Do you even know how much that ship costs? You guys couldn't even fathom a number that high. No. No way."

Before long, we were suiting up and packing Brainy's ship to head out when Supergirl got back from recruiting the others. I decided to take a walk over to Alex's place to calm my nerves a bit before I left. I knocked on the door and heard her call out. When I told her it was me, she told me it was unlocked. Walking in I saw Alex on the couch with her leg up.

"Hey, how's the leg?" I asked, walking further into her apartment.

Alex made a bummed face, "could be better."

"She's going to let me design it later," I heard from behind me.

I spun around to see a young girl carrying over drinks.

"Rae, this is my niece, Ruby," introduced Alex. Ruby stuck her hand out to shake mine.

"It's nice to meet you. Do you work with Supergirl too?" she asked.

I smiled at her enthusiasm and looked at Alex for the answer. When Alex nodded, I looked back at Ruby and said yes.

"That's so cool. You guys look so bad ass in your FBI gear," said Ruby.

"Whoa, whoa. Cool aunt, not that cool though. Watch the language," said Alex. "Ruby is Sam's daughter, so unofficial aunt."

I nodded as I put together the information. "Ah I see, so you guys are hanging out for the weekend?"

"Yeah, I was supposed to have my other sitter but she cancelled which ended up being totally okay because I get to hangout here. Are you going to stay?" breathed Ruby, talking a mile a minute.

"Actually, I'm heading out of town for a little bit but maybe if we get everything sorted I could come back and bring Charlie," I offered, sitting down on the chair opposite them.

"Charlie is super cute Rub," said Alex. "You'd love her."

"Who is Charlie?" asked Ruby.

"She's my daughter, she's just a baby," I said, showing her a picture.

"Aww, she's so cute. I hope you get to bring her over," cooed Ruby.

"I will definitely try my best," I said, standing up to leave. "Well, I should head out, I didn't realize you guys were hanging out."

"No, that's okay. I'm glad you stopped by," said Alex. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I said, brushing my nerves away. "I was just nervous about going out of town again. But this helped."

"Good, happy we could help. We're going to hold you to that visit when you get back," she said, with a smile.

I walked behind the couch and touched Alex's shoulder on the way by. "I hope you do."

"Perfect, we'll see you soon," she said, letting her hand brush over mine as I walked to the door.

"Nice to meet you Ruby," I called over my shoulder. "You too," I heard back. I headed back to the DEO more excited to get this trip over with.

* * *

"So, is Rae your girlfriend?" Ruby asked, sitting back down on the couch.

"No. She's not," I laughed, shaking my head. "Why would you think that?"

"Why not? She's cute, don't you think?" she said. "You guys seem pretty comfortable with each other."

"We work together, a lot. We've just got to know one another, quickly."

"Well, I think you guys would make a pretty cute couple," she stated.

"Well, I think I'm pretty hungry. How about some of whatever you made?" I said, hoping to switch the topic. "Want some?"

"Yes please," she answered. "I can get it."

"No, I got it. Relax," I said, crutching my way over the kitchen.

"You're like the toughest person I know," said Ruby, holding up my phone. "Um Alex, you have a text."

"Aww, thanks. From who?" I asked.

"Maggie," she stated. The name stopped me dead in my tracks and Ruby saw. "I'll get lunch."

She handed me my phone and walked into the kitchen. I read the name over and over again before opening the message. Finally, I swiped over and the blurb appeared. My heart was beating a touch faster than normal, only to feel like it had been stomped on, again, once I read the text.

"Everything okay?" Ruby asked, standing on the opposite side of the kitchen island.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine," I said, pulling myself together. "Maggie is my ex-fiancé. Her message just threw me off for a second. She thinks she left her passport here when we broke up."

"Were you hoping the message would say something else?" she asked.

"You know for a twelve year old, you're pretty intuitive," I said, placing my phone on the counter. "I don't know what I wanted it to say. I definitely didn't want to feel like this though."

"Like what?"

"Like I've just been sitting here waiting all this time to hear from her. Like I can't control my emotions enough to stay strong and continue moving on," I said, realizing I was venting to a child.

"So don't. Don't be the princess that sits up in the tower waiting for someone to realize they want her. Be the princess that knows what she wants and goes after it."

I looked at Ruby, speechless by the powerful yet simple plan of action. "You know what? You're right. Thank you."

"Okay, since I helped you; maybe you can help me? There's this girl in school who's been bullying me," she started.

* * *

We had made it to Fort Rozz and docked the ship. Supergirl was able to recruit Livewire and Psi, a master of mind control. After some trouble with the ship and docking, Psi was left with me while Supergirl and Livewire went on to find Rozz and the information she processed.

"She's here," announced Psi, as we watched her pod board the prison.

"Supergirl! Reign is in the building! Do you copy?" I yelled, hoping to give her a chance to be prepared.

"Copy," she said. "Do you have a visual?"

"No, but she's close to you guys. She docked down there," I answered, I turned to Psi. "I need to get the ship back on course. I'm going to take your dampener off. They'll need back up."

Psi rolled her eyes and took off to find them. I finally got communication back with the DEO and heard the scuffle. I grabbed my medical bag and started running in the direction of the yelling. I saw a flash of lightning and then nothing. Then heard a scream, I thought it was Supergirl but when I turned the corner I saw Reign kneeling on the ground while Psi messed with her head. I surveyed the scene and saw Supergirl standing in front of Livewire, who was lying lifeless on the ground. I rushed to them and pulled Livewire out of view while Supergirl tried to connect with the other side of Reign. I checked for a pulse on the white haired woman lying in front of me. It was weak and thready, I inserted an IV into her arm so I could push some medication to kick-start her heart but nothing was working. After trying many different techniques, Supergirl was back by my side.

"Stay with us Livewire," she said. "Lesley? Can you hear me? Don't give up."

"We need to jumpstart her heart, I think if I shock her the underlying current still running through her might be enough." Supergirl nodded in agreement and stood back while I got the paddles ready.

"Clear," I said, pressing the paddles to her chest and letting the voltage send through. It connected with her body and the two currents exploded, sending me backwards into the wall and Livewire crackling with energy.

"I don't understand," I said, kneeling back over her and starting compressions. "She still has energy flowing through her. Where is it coming from?"

The DEO came through our earpieces. "Agent Gand, it sounds like you've done all you can do. Valiant effort, the energy you're still seeing is just what's left of the current; it takes time to actually fade out. I think it's time to call it."

I looked at Supergirl; this was her friend. I would stay as long as I was needed.

"It's your call." I said, looking at Supergirl.

"He's right, we've done all we could," she agreed.

I did a few more compressions and looked to Psi to see if she had any last minute ideas. She merely nodded and looked down. I stopped compressions. "Time of death, 13:44."

* * *

When we got back to the DEO I found Supergirl. "Hey, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. I wish I could've done more."

"You did everything the way you were supposed to, thank you," she said. "Um, Agent Gand, maybe you should sit down. You took a pretty good hit to the head on that wall. It may need stitches."

"Oh, really?" I said, reaching up and touching blood. "I should be okay, it should start to heal pretty quick now that we're home. I'm just going to go clean it out."

"Okay, you're sure you're okay?" she asked, pulling out her phone.

"Yes, thank you," I answered, heading to the locker room.

"Agent Gand!" Supergirl called out after me. "It's Alex. She would actually like to talk to you. She said your phone is putting her right to voicemail."

I stepped back pulling my phone out of my pocket. It came out in pieces.

"Well, she'll have to pick which piece of her phone she's going to call you back on," said Kara, with a small smile. "Yeah, she's okay. It was the shock when she tried to shock Lesley's heart."

Kara listened to what Alex was saying, before looking at me again. "She would like to know if you're going to be able to make it over to hang out with them?"

"I'm not sure I'd be the best company right now and I should probably get this fixed," I said, holding up my phone. After losing a patient, I usually just wanted to be alone. That made for a lonely time during the war. "Tell her I'm sorry, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

I barely made it to the change room and Winn came rushing up to me out of breath. "I was ordered to give this to you within five minutes of receiving the message, charged and updated with all your favourite things."

"All my favourite things? How could you do that?" I asked him. He smirked his Winn smirk and slid across the screen to the photos and hit play. Instantly, the video of Charlie taking her first steps began playing and you can hear me laughing and giggling before Alex turns the camera to herself to show a nervous but excited face. "You did manage to get a few of my favourite things on here Winn. Thank you." I gave him a hug and took the phone.

Moments later, I was standing in front of Alex's door with Charlie. The second I knocked, all the butterflies came rushing back to my stomach. I hadn't felt like this in a long time. Alex opened the door and leaned against. "Hey."

"Hey," I answered. A big smile came across her face as she saw Charlie reach for her.

"Yes! She likes me," she joked, as she opened the door wider inviting us in and holding her arms out for the wiggling baby.

"Thanks for the phone," I said, passing Charlie over. "It helped a lot."

"Glad I could help," she smiled back at me.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up when I felt the little warm bundle in front of me start to move. I opened my eyes and found Charlie snuggled into my chest. Her blonde curls tickled my neck as she stretched herself awake. Beyond her was Rae, still asleep and beautiful as ever in the morning light. I propped myself up on my elbow so I could see Charlie's face.

"Good Morning Kiddo," I said quietly, not wanting to wake Rae. "How did you sleep?" Charlie stretched her arms over her head and pulled her legs up making her roll over and giggle while she stretched. "You're so funny. Are you hungry?" She nodded. "Do you want some pancakes?" She nodded again but this time with a huge grin. "Come on, let's go make some."

Last night, I had been happily surprised when Rae agreed to stay the night and have another glass of wine with me. Sharing my bed and waking up to both of them had made me realize I was making the right decision to move on with my life. I was happy and I saw that every time Charlie or Rae looked at me. Charlie was sitting on the counter in front of me while we mixed the pancake ingredients together. She kept sticking her finger in and I'd gasp, making her laugh. The sound of her laughter was contagious and I couldn't help but laugh with her. Each time she thought it was just as funny as the last. While I was busy stirring, I felt strong arms wrap around my waist, a warm body press against mine and soft lips on my neck.

"Morning," said Rae, against my skin.

"Good morning," I smiled, turning around in her arms. I was about to meet those lips when the incessant banging started. Disappointed, I looked towards the door and the banging continued, getting louder.

All at once, my eyes flew open and I heard Kara's voice. "Good morning! I brought breakfast! Let me in!" she called through the door. I moaned loudly into my pillow.

"I heard that! Are you still in bed?" she asked, banging again. I slumped to the door and held it open. "Did I interrupt something?" she asked, sporting a sly grin.

"Just the greatest dream ever," I said, shutting the door and leaning against it.

"No way. You had the dream again? A third time in as many weeks! A reoccurring dream is like a sign, you know. Why don't you just go for it? You obviously like Rae. Just ask her out," said Kara.

"I can't. There's so many reasons she could say no and I'm not getting rejected again," I said, hearing how pathetic it sounded.

"Yes, but there's also so many reasons she could say yes! Alex, you're the most fearless person I know. You can't live like this, it's not who you are. You can't just hermit your heart. You have to love and learn," said Kara, she passed me a coffee and held hers up for a cheers.

"Love and learn," I repeated.

* * *

I saw Alex leaning against the desk talking with Winn.

"Morning guys," I said, walking up to the desk.

"Hey Rae!" said Winn, gathering up his stuff. "I have an idea for your inhibitor. Let's rendezvous a little later and see what you think."

"Okay, sounds good," I said, wondering if maybe the ones we have would suffice. Especially considering the last time we swapped them.

"Hey," said Alex, propping her head on her hand and staring at me.

"Hi," I answered, smiling at her dreamy expression. "Arrest any ten year olds lately?"

"It was one time! And it was only a threat. Also, they're twelve," she argued, with a huge grin on her face. "Besides, Ruby text me to tell me it worked. She got an apology the following Monday and no texts or messages since."

"Well, I guess it's true what they say," I said, leaning my elbows on the desk next to her. "Not all hero's wear capes."

Alex smiled like she wanted to say something else but instead she straightened up and turned to Winn at his desk. "Hey, Agent Gand and I are going to follow up on a lead. We'll be in the field if you need us."

Winn saluted her from his seat and I followed her lead as she headed for the door. "I didn't realize we had a lead."

"It's personal," said Alex, holding the door to the garage for me. "But a friend asked for a favour and I could use an extra set of eyes on it, if you don't mind?"

"Sure," I said, looking around for a DEO vehicle. Alex handed me a helmet. "What's this?"

"Safety first," smiled Alex, putting hers on. She swung a leg over her motorcycle that was behind her and waited for me to get on. My heart was racing and I hadn't even taken a step towards it. "We could take your mom mobile if you'd rather."

"It's a standard issue government vehicle," I stated, finally putting the helmet on. I could see the grin Alex had while she held her hand out to steady me. The angle of the seat forced me to sit much closer than we were at game night. "Where do I put my feet?"

Alex leaned over, "you can rest them here." She watched as I lifted both feet before she reached for my hands behind her back. "You're going to have to hold on to me." She pulled my arms around her waist and I was completely leaning against her.

"Like this?" I asked, not sure if my nerves had increased from the impending ride or my closeness to the beautiful woman I had my arms around.

"Perfect," she answered. Alex gave me a couple directions on how to ride with her before starting the engine and we pulled out of the garage. We were headed to L-Corp from what I could tell when I had my eyes open. When we pulled up to the tall building, Alex parked and held her hand out once again. Reluctantly, I released my arms that had fit so comfortably around her and stepped off the bike.

"Well, your first ride? How was that?' asked Alex, pulling off her helmet and running a hand through her short hair.

"I've been in spaceships, tanks, I have even rode a horse and that was the most gripping out of them all," I answered.

"Well, hopefully today won't be your last," she smiled. She nodded her head towards the building, "let's go."

I followed her in and up to Sam's office, where we were escorted in right away. I still had no idea why we were here.

"Hey guys," said Sam, stepping into her office. She had a surprised look on her face when she spotted me.

"Hey Sam, I hope you don't mind, I brought Rae along. Her medical experience far out weighs mine and I thought having her here might give a better perspective on what we find."

"Sure," she nodded. "Of course, discretion is still my biggest concern."

"Doctor-patient confidentiality always applies, I take my oath very seriously," I assured her.

"Okay, well why don't we get to it. We're going to use the office and labs upstairs. No one is scheduled to be there for a while. I just hate hospitals so this allows me to beat some of the anxiety I've been having."

We both nodded as we followed her to the elevators and headed up. While she was changing into her gown, Alex explained to me the symptoms that Sam had been having. "She's just concerned it's something serious, which terrifies her because she's all Ruby has."

"Of course, I assume that would be any mothers concern," I said, rolling up my sleeves. "But Ruby would have you, wouldn't she? I mean, Lena and Kara too but she'd be lucky to have you as a guardian, I've seen you two together."

"Thanks, yeah I would help anywhere I could. Sam just doesn't want to be a burden," said Alex. Sam re-joined us next to the MRI machine, looking incredibly nervous. Alex did her best to explain what we would be doing and tried to calm Sam's nerves. We moved through the procedure, each taking turns looking at the bits of images that popped up and bouncing ideas off each other. But we wouldn't know for sure until the final scan came out as a whole.

"What do you think?" asked Alex.

"I don't see anything," I answered.

"So that's good right?" asked Sam, sitting up.

"It's neither good nor bad. It just means whatever it is, isn't showing up on the scans," explained Alex.

"So now what?" questioned Sam.

"Now we'll send the images off to an expert, along with some blood work and we wait," answered Alex, as I passed her the needle.

"I'm scared of needles," said Sam.

"I'm going to make this painless," promised Alex.

"She's oddly good at this stuff," I added.

"So you both have medical training but work for the FBI?" asked Sam, looking between the two of us. I let Alex answer first.

"Yes, I started off in the medical field, even had a job up in Seattle for a bit. But it turns out, I just needed a little more action," she said, nonchalantly.

"I'm a bit of the opposite. I was medically trained and joined the army and after awhile I just needed less action. You know how it is, with kids and all," I said, leaving the part of my discharge from the army out of it.

"Done," announced Alex.

We gave Sam a second to get dressed and she walked us out. It wasn't long and I was holding on tight to Alex as she drove us back to the DEO.

"I don't know. I think I'd rather have it show up so we could get a plan of action in place, it's the not knowing that's the worst," I said, continuing our conversation from the parking lot.

"Yeah, I think I'm the same. I'd just want to know," she agreed.

"Hey gals," greeted Winn. "Any luck on your lead?"

"Uh, no. It was a long shot though," said Alex, quickly.

"Guys!" shouted Kara, through our earpieces. "We have an incoming! It's Lena. She unconscious and barely breathing."

"Rae!" urged Alex.

"On it," I said, already running in the direction of Med Bay. I started grabbing everything I could see. From the crash cart to our med cart, if it could move, I took it. I piled it up before pushing it back to the lobby. Alex had grabbed a gurney, which Kara was already laying Lena down on.

"What happened?" asked Alex, pulling a stethoscope out to check her heart. I reached to check her vitals.

"She was poisoned, Edge put it in her coffee," stated Kara.

"Two hundred milligrams Phenobarbital, stat," ordered Alex. "It's okay Lena, everything is going to be okay."

I pushed the medicine down the intravenous line I had just inserted into her arm.

"Two litres of saline, run it open," continued Alex, as she applied an oxygen mask over Lena's mouth and nose.

"Got it," I answered, already opening the line.

"I want a radial artery line and two red tox," said Alex.

"Blood pressure is seventy over palp, pulse is thirty and falling," I answered, as I continued with Alex's orders. "We need to know what he used."

Alex turned to Kara, "I don't know."

Alex spoke out loud while she ran through a list of possible poisons, "mustard gas, cyanide, strychnine." She paused, then leaned over Lena, removing her oxygen mask and took a breath. "Almonds."

"That's cyanide," I said, turning to the med cart.

"Go with fifty mils of sodium thiosulfate," she said, watching me lift it to the line. "How long has it been?"

"Uh, two, three minutes," answered Kara, as she watched us work on her friend.

"Right now, cyanide is circulating through her system. Her brain and her heart are going to shut down," said Alex, listening again to her heart. "We need to slow down her circulation in order for this to work."

"How do you slow it down?" asked Kara, still looking between the two of us.

"Induce hypothermia," I answered, following Alex's train of thought.

"I can do it. Let me do it," said Kara, moving to the side of the bed. I stepped back while she took a deep breath and blew frozen air towards Lena.

"Okay, that's good," said Alex, standing next to her sister and watching the monitors. Everyone was holding their breath while we watched the numbers on the screen bounce up and down. "Come on, Lena," finally, the numbers started to levelled out.

"Come on, come on, come on," pleaded Kara.

"Normal sinus rhythm," announced Alex, "you saved her."

"No, we did," said Kara, squeezing her shoulder and giving me a nod. Everyone took a breath of relief and I started to organize everything so we could transport Lena out of the lobby of the DEO. She would have to be brought back to CatCo before she woke but for now, she needed rest and monitoring.

* * *

The next day, Winn had found a location for the new world killer. J'onn had assembled a strike team, along with Supergirl. I headed for the armoury to suit up but not before stopping by Med Bay. I popped my head in to say good morning to Rae before I left but it was empty. Figuring she had made her way down to the armoury to see us off, I didn't think anything of it. But when I stepped into the armoury, Rae wasn't there.

"J'onn, where's Rae?"

"I gave her the day off, she's been here almost everyday since she started. I'm sure that baby of hers misses her," he said, genuinely.

"Yeah, I bet she does," I replied, trying not to let my disappointment show. I grabbed my gear and headed to the front car. The mix of emotions inside me was beginning to drive me insane. Every time I got those feelings around Rae, it's paired with guilt and fear. I feel guilty for moving on from Maggie and for still thinking of Maggie while Rae looks at me and makes me feel like the only person in the room. I feel the fear of being heartbroken again and that makes me feel weak and I'm not used to feeling like that. I hate where I'm at right now and I can't seem to shake it, it seems like a never-ending cycle.

"Agent Danvers," J'onn said again, stirring me from my thoughts.

"Sorry J'onn, what's up?" I said, shaking my mind off and trying to focus.

"Are you ready for this mission? Because we can't bear to have anyone not on point today," he said, his eyes trying to read mine.

"Yeah, yes. I'm fine, just going over the plan in my head one more time," I stumbled.

"Okay, let's roll out!" ordered J'onn.

On the way to the mission, I normally wouldn't answer a call but it was the ringtone linked to Ruby's number.

"Hey Rubes," I said, listening for her greeting. "Wait, slow down. Where is she?"

I listened to her crying into the phone, trying to tell me her mom was with her one second at the skating rink and now she's there all alone.

"Okay, listen. I can't get away from work right now, but I'm going to call Rae and ask her to come get you, okay?" She sniffled her answer, "okay, I'll give Rae your phone number so she can call you when she's there. Okay? Sit tight."

I called Rae right away, this situation not ideal since we were getting closer to the world killers location.

"Hey Rae, I need some help," I said, before explaining the situation. Rae was the type of person who was always willing to help a friend. It was one of the many qualities I was starting to realize I liked a lot about her. Before we said goodbye, Rae was already on her way to the rink, which eased my mind.

We pulled up outside a small house, just outside of the city. We waited for all vehicles to come to a stop and then we moved inside. To everyone's surprise, the take down was barely that. Compared to Reign, Purity seemed like the obvious lesser threat. Kara's plan was to talk the information out of her but I wanted to be done with it. I figured if she was the less experienced one, we'd be able to steam roll the situation in our favour. But Supergirl was adamant we take our time, which Purity loved. Each time she toyed with Kara, I wanted to get in the cell with her. Finally, I'd had enough.

"Okay, we tried your way. Now it's my turn," I said, surprising Kara.

"What's gotten into you today?" she asked.

"I'm just tired of these games, she has the information we want and I'm going to get it," I answered. I stormed into the room and didn't waste anytime.

"Where's Reign?" I demanded. I stared her down. "Where's Reign?"

"To use your own words; you think you're smarter than me. Stronger than me, you think I'm powerless to your science. I see right through you Alex Danvers. It's a gift I have to see inside people. To know them," she looked me up and down. "You want to hurt me, because you're hurt. You want me weak, because you're weak. Someone cut something out of you and you feel that hole every day. A hole that you dug in yourself. And it's not getting any better, now is it?" said Purity, staring right back at me.

"Okay. All right, all right," interrupted Supergirl. "We're done here."

"Where is Reign?" I shouted.

"See the rage?" taunted Purity. "That's her loneliness."

"Shut your mouth."

"You had your shot at happiness and you blew it," continued Purity, knowing she had hit a nerve.

"Alex. Enough," said Supergirl, pulling me towards the door. I pulled my arm free from her and stormed out myself. I couldn't catch my breath. Everything that world killer had said, had been right. That's exactly how I felt. And now that I've dug the hole myself, I can't reach Rae. I can't even hold onto the sides to keep myself from falling deeper. I felt myself getting dizzy, but I couldn't sit. The rage that was coercing through me was palpable. I tried catching my breath.

"Hey, there you are. Winn said I'd find you up here," said Rae, walking in in street clothes. As soon as I saw her, I felt my last inch of control slip from any strength I was holding on to. "Hey, what's happening?" Rae walked over to me and covered my hand with hers. I wanted to go to her and just melt into her arms, letting her tell me everything was going to be okay. "Alex, I'm here." She tried to look at my eyes, but I knew she'd see too much if I looked at her. I pulled back farther, out of her reach and shook my head.

"I'm fine, I have to go," I said, sidestepping around her. "I'm fine. Really."

As soon as I got downstairs to my office, I grabbed my keys and headed out to my bike. A quick drive would clear my head.

* * *

Not sure what was going on, I looked around for someone who would have answers. It didn't take long to find them. The glass from the containment rooms burst open and a deafening pitch pierced my ears. I saw Supergirl being flung across the room. She hit the wall and landed, unconscious. I went to her, seeing the world killer leave her cell and head out towards the hall.

"Supergirl," I called. "Can you hear me?" I steadied her neck and checked it. "Supergirl, wake up." I checked her pupils and felt around her skull for abrasions and fractures. There was nothing, then she stirred in my arms.

"Where's Alex?" she asked, coming to.

"She left before the glass blew out. Why?" I asked, concerned for her safety. "Is she in danger?"

"The world killer knows she can get under her skin," said Supergirl, feeling her head. "I don't know what will happen if she finds her."

"Lets go, can you walk?" I asked, wanting to find Alex.

"Yeah, help me up," she said, reaching for my hand. As she stood in front of me, Purity's scream sounded like something I had never heard before. The only glass window left standing was blown out. Supergirl swung her cape around us and hid us from the spray of tiny shards.

"Thanks," I whispered, as we looked around for Purity. I led the way out of the cell room and headed for the stairs. Alex was probably headed to her office before Purity got loose so that's where I was headed.

"Rae! Purity is this way," called Supergirl.

"I'm going to find Alex," I answered, knowing one of the rules of tactics was to stay together unless absolutely necessary. But this felt necessary. We split up and I headed downstairs. I cleared the flights of stairs in two jumps and came face to face with the world killer. As soon as she saw me, she screamed. I tried to stand against the sound barrier but it pushed me back against the wall. I tried to use the wall to get leverage and jump over it but she had me pinned there. I was trapped until Supergirl flew in, taking Purity with her. They struggled in the air until Purity broke free and flew out the window.

"Thanks again," I said to Supergirl, when she landed beside me.

"For you Rae, anytime," she said with a smile. I tried to return it but I was winded from having a force against my chest. I turned and walked into Alex's office, which was empty.

"You know, if she were here, I think she would've been out here," said Kara, pretending to peer over my shoulder. "Especially today, she's having quite a confrontational day."

"Yeah, I thought something was a little off," I said, standing a little straighter. "Everything okay?"

"I think Purity might have said a couple things that hit home while she was interrogating her," explained Supergirl.

"Takes quite a bit to get under Alex's skin," I replied, hoping Kara would give me something else.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on with her," she said. I couldn't tell if that was the truth or a sister covering for her sister.

"Okay," I sighed. "Well, Ruby is at my place. I can drop her off when Sam gets back or whatever Alex wants to do. Can you just let her know?"

"Okay, will do," said Supergirl. "Oh hey, sorry about all this on your day off."

I laughed, "should've known there was no rest for the wicked."

* * *

I returned back to the DEO after my drive and was blown away. The place looked like a war zone. I stepped over piles of debris as I made my way to the command centre.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, as Kara walked down the stairs.

"Purity got away with her cache crystal," she answered, plainly. "Where were you?"

"I needed to clear my head," I said. "Rae was here. Did she leave before all this happened?" I started to head upstairs to where I saw her last.

"She's left already," called Supergirl. "Not before she got stuck between a wall and a sound barrier though. Looking for you."

I felt my cheeks getting warm. I should've told Rae I was leaving, she could've been hurt and it would've been my fault.

"There's people that care about you Alex, maybe you need to let some of them in," offered Kara. "Like for a drink?"

I smiled and nodded. "A drink sounds pretty good right now."

"Look alive people! We got a hit on Purity, she's underground at the subway station!" shouted Winn.

"Lets go," said Supergirl.

"We won't have time to get a strike team together," said J'onn. "We'll be on our own." He looked at me, Kara and Mon-el.

"I have something!" said Winn, looking like a kid with a present. "It's some old gear, I revamped it to fight against the sound frequency Purity emits."

"Have they been tested?" asked Mon-el.

"No, but I'm sure they're like one hundred, like, ninety five percent certain they're good," he shrugged.

"Should I call Rae?" asked Mon-el.

"No. It's her day off," answered J'onn.

"Okay, but she's going to be pissed she missed this one!" he shouted, as he took off.

At the subway station, we managed to corner Purity in the tunnel. Hoping we had some kind of containment to the isolation of the tunnel, we weren't expecting Purity's attempt to escape. But she countered by wailing at the floor causing it to collapse. She was growing stronger and smarter with her powers by the minute. We all fell through to the next level of the subway and the crowd of people below went straight to pandemonium. People were yelling and running in all directions.

Purity made the first move. In an effort to distract us, she blasted a pillar holding the above level up. Mon-el, alongside J'onn were forced to hold it up taking two away from our numbers.

"Alex, get these people out of here!" I heard Supergirl yell, as she squared off with the world killer. I started running to the nearest person, helping them out, trying to herd them out of harms way.

With J'onn handling the collapsing pillars, Mon-el and Supergirl were giving Purity everything they had. Her strength was becoming formidable. She threw Mon-el to the side like he was a rag doll. The next time I turned around, I saw Supergirl gasping for air as Purity wrapped her arm tighter around her neck.

My last resort was to reach Julia, her human side and hope that I could connect like Kara would.

"Julia! Stop!" Those white eyes pierced through me. "You stood in front a car to save your friend, Vinita because you love your friend. And you know that Supergirl wants to help you. You can fight this because you are stronger than you think."

I couldn't believe what I was saying. The same words I was saying to Julia were the words I needed to hear and start believing. I could see Julia fighting against whatever was taking her over.

"Julia, fight it! I believe that you can beat this!" The struggle I watched as the world killer struggle to stay in control was difficult. But eventually, both girls fell to the ground.

"So the Supergirl kneels," announced Reign, as she descended from the upper level.

Knowing Supergirl was weak from Purity, I walked toward Reign, taking aim and firing. I ignore the sound of my sister's voice, as shot after shot deflected off Reign. I was out of options; I needed one of these shots to catch.

"You, I kill!" shouted Reign; she flew at me, taking me to the ground. The impact from her alone was powerful, but the foot she used to crush my chest as I lay there was worse. I could hear Supergirl yelling, hoping for help from anyone. When Julia spoke up.

"Stop. Take me," she offered, selflessly trying to save me.

"No, don't!" tried Kara.

"Have me instead," insisted Julia. Reign studied Julia, before lifting her foot off my sternum. I gasped for air. My lungs were burning and Reigns voice was nothing more than a mumble in the background as I tried to roll away from her. I heard them fly off and watched from my back as J'onn was finally able to place the pillar back together with the help of Mon-el. I couldn't think of the next step, I just wanted to get back to the DEO.

J'onn forced me to get checked out, insisting that my own assessment wasn't good enough.

"Guys, it's just a couple of bruised ribs and what feels like a giant hematoma on my ass," I cringed as I put my sweater on. "It could've been worse; it could've been rugby."

"Don't joke," said Kara, looking at me full of concern.

"Winn, anything other than me to talk about?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

"We lost track of the world killers minutes after they took off," he said.

"Well, we found them once. We'll find them again," said J'onn, leading himself and Winn out of the examination room.

"Ready for that drink now?" I asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Hell yeah," said Supergirl.

I sat in the booth, waiting for Kara to get back. I had to tell her how I was feeling. How I felt every time I looked at the two numbers in my speed dial. She came back with our drinks and listened to every word. It felt good to let it out but it didn't feel like she could fix this one. I looked at the two numbers again, willing myself to make a decision.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked her. Instead of her answer, my phone rang. I looked down at the unknown number. I excused myself from the table while I answered.

"Hello?"

"Bruised ribs and a hematoma? And you didn't think to call the doctor on call?" The voice instantly brought a smile to my face.

"I saw a doctor, I've been cleared," I assured Rae. I looked back at the table where Kara sat with a huge grin on her face.

"You know we're taking you for X-rays tomorrow right?" she asked. "I had one day off!"

I laughed again, "You were definitely missed today." I said; thinking of how pivotal Rae had become to the team in just a short amount of time. "I missed you."

I wrapped up the call with Rae; agreeing I'd pick Ruby up for school in the morning after she insisted she spend the night so I could take it easy. Sam still couldn't be reached, which was weird that she hadn't thought to even touch base with her daughter.

"Rae was just checking in," I said, sitting down.

"Maybe that's your problem," suggested Kara, pointing at my phone where the number was labelled as unknown. "Maybe you have the wrong person in that speed dial."


	6. Chapter 6

Alex was poured over Sam's scans in Med Bay, where she had been ordered to stay until her ribs healed up. She was meticulously combing through each one, desperate to find a hint that would give Sam the answers she needed. Her hair fell, covering her face; she straightened up and pushed it back into place. I caught her eye and she smiled once she saw me and made her way to the door.

"Were you spying on me?" she asked, coyly. She held the door while I stepped through, with my hands full.

"Thanks." I passed her one of the coffees I was holding. She sighed and thanked me. "How else would I stay one step ahead of you?"

"I wish you were one step ahead of me on this one," she said, sitting on her stool and taking a sip of her coffee. She stretched, feeling the stiffness settling in the came with the healing process.

"Has someone looked at your ribs today?" I asked, watching a smirk cross her lips.

"No, it's Connors on today. And his hands are always so cold," she said, sitting back from the desk and shrugging off her jacket.

"Oh, so that's why you sent me on the coffee run," I teased, moving beside her and lifting the side of her shirt. The bruising had softened from the dark, violent purple to pink and yellows. "Better here?"

"Yeah, no where near as bad as last week," she flinched, as I pressed gently on her healing bones. I lowered her shirt and held her jacket for her to put back on.

"The swelling looks much better and the bruising is dissipating," I said, looking over her shoulder at Sam's file. "Unlike this case." I moved back to the side of the desk and took a sip of coffee.

"I feel like I'm so close and it's just staring at me," Alex turned in her chair to face me. "Kind of like you, what's going on with you?"

I looked down at my coffee, working up the nerve. "Do you want to grab dinner sometime?"

"Sure, what do you want to order tonight?" Alex asked, grabbing the menus from the drawer and flipping through them. "No more sushi. The last time we had that stuff my stomach was rolling for hours."

"I meant, would you join me for dinner? Like outside the DEO. Like a date," I said, leaning on the counter beside her stool.

Alex's face flushed and she hesitantly smiled. I've wanted to ask her out for a while now, but I'd heard that she was having a hard time with her break up. I didn't want to push her into anything or be a rebound. But for some reason, today, I finally got over my nerves and hoped she would too. Maybe it was the way she looked at me or how natural we felt together; but it made me feel a certain way. Well, over my nerves until she hesitated. But just as quickly as her flush appeared, she relaxed. "Yeah, dinner sounds great."

My smile instantly returned and my nerves faded away. "Okay, how about Friday?"

"Friday sounds good," she answered, grinning. "I'll pick you up at eight o'clock, after Charlie is in bed?"

The thought of getting back on her motorcycle still concerned me, but the excitement I was feeling told me I'd go anywhere with Alex.

"Perfect," I answered, leaning a touch closer to her; that smile was my favourite. But before our perfect moment could get any more perfect, Supergirl rushed past the doors.

"Guys, we need you both at the Command Centre."

* * *

"I can't believe the last couple days. How's Winn holding up?" I asked Kara, as we walked to the command desk the next morning.

"He just wants to work and pretend like nothing has changed. It's like we're not even going to his Dad's funeral this afternoon," she answered, clearly not liking his approach.

"Well, his relationship with his father was strained at best. Winn basically disowned him after the murder trial. It probably felt like he died then," I said. The loss of Winn's dad was bringing up issues of my own.

"I know, but he's still hurt and he needs to process everything instead of just jumping back in and putting everything into work."

"Kara, you can't fix everything, although, sometimes we wish you could," I said, as we walked up to the desk where Rae was.

"Yeah," she sighed, nodding hello to Rae. "Okay, car leaves in ten." She left me at the desk with Rae while she went to find J'onn.

"Hey, how's everyone doing?"

"I think they're fine, maybe just a difference in coping," I answered, leaning my elbows next to where Rae was sitting. "Thanks for coming with me today. I hate funerals. I mean, obviously there aren't many people that enjoy them. But still, I feel better knowing you're there."

"Of course, I'm sure Winn can use all the support as well," smiled Rae.

She was looking very serious out of her long sleeve DEO t-shirt and back in her sleek black suit. I took a moment to admire her in it; the white collared shirt unbuttoned just enough.

"Right. What are you working on?" I asked, hoping to lighten the conversation and take my mind off how great Rae looked.

"I grabbed some journals I found on cell regeneration and mutation. I was just curious since the yellow sun clearly has different effects on different people. I was hoping to get a better grasp as to why that is," she said, leafing through the pages. "I was wondering if maybe it would help us understand what's happening to Sam a little better."

"Well, I've studied a bit of Supergirls' DNA, maybe I can be your study buddy," I offered, nudging her shoulder with mine. Rae grinned and I noticed how perfect her lips looked.

"Okay! Let's do this!" announced Kara, with a loud clap heading toward the garage.

A quick glance at Rae, who shared the same smirk I did, told me she had been thinking the same thing. I was more than ready for our date tomorrow.

* * *

Alex and I walked up the pathway that led to Mr. Schott's final resting place. Winn was there with James, his expression looking blank. I walked up to Winn and gave him a quick hug.

"If there's anything you need, just call," I reminded him, he nodded but his look didn't waver. Alex followed behind me, holding Winn close for an extra second or two before straightening back up. We moved to the other side and waited while the others showed up. J'onn and Kara walked up with the facilitator and Kara took her place beside Winn, holding his hand. As we listened to the man speak, I noticed Alex becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She continuously shuffled her footing while looking at her hands in front of her. I stepped closer to her, allowing our shoulders to meet and subtly slid my hand into hers. I saw her look at our hands and felt her body become less tense. As we watched Winn throw a hand full of dirt at the coffin, we all straightened when we saw a woman approach him. We watched, as Winn didn't look entirely impressed by her presence.

"What is it?" I heard Alex ask Kara.

"I can hear something," she said, straining her hearing.

"Yeah, I can hear it too, like a ticking," I said, straining to hear where it was coming from.

As I said it, Kara's eyes widened. "Bomb!" She yelled, diving to cover Winn and the woman who claimed to be his mother.

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with Alex above me. "Little slow today eh?" she asked, when the dust settled. I unclenched her jacket from my hands, which I had grabbed when she pushed me to the ground, to block me from the explosion.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks," I said, sitting up.

"Anytime," she offered a hand to help me up.

"Although next time, I think I should be on top," I suggested, brushing myself off. "Since I have that whole self healing thing going for me."

"You want to be on top. Gotcha," said Alex, with a wink. I couldn't hide my smirk, as Alex walked over to Kara and helped Winn and the woman off the ground.

* * *

Friday found me at home, looking at journals and reports scattered all over the kitchen table. It felt like every time I had a theory, the next journal would have a discovery that proved it wrong. I had been reading medical jargon since breakfast with Mom and Charlie. It was now after lunch and Mom thought it would be a good idea to walk over to the market and see if she could get Charlie down for a nap. I got up to stretch my legs and grabbed another coffee. As the clock ticked down, all I could think about was my date with Alex. I was trying to figure out what to wear when my phone rang.

"Agent Gand," I answered, not looking at the screen.

"Hi Hun."

"Oh, sorry Mom, what's up?" I said, grabbing my coffee and moving back to my desk.

"Rae, do you think you could come pick us up? I'm just not feeling like myself."

"Really? That's weird, you can't be getting sick," I said, knowing that wasn't possible on this earth. "Okay, I'm on my way. I'll call you when I get there. Maybe it's your inhibitor."

* * *

My lunch with J'onn and his dad had been great, until Mr. J'onzz asked me to leave. I didn't mean to overstep, I was just trying to protect J'onn. He needs to know how far along his fathers condition has progressed. Clearly, his father did not feel the same way. I walked into Cat Co. looking for Kara; I needed to shake this horrible feeling before my date tonight.

"Hey," she said, greeting me at the elevator.

"Hi," I answered, handing her a coffee. "Do you have a second?"

"Of course, what's up?" she said, sitting at her desk. I leaned against the desk and took a sip of my coffee.

"I think I upset M'yrnn while we were having lunch this afternoon. I suggested that he tell J'onn how his condition had progressed and he got pretty mad and asked me to leave," I said, feeling horrible.

"Well, I'm sure hearing the truth out loud is hard to hear. Especially when he's just worried about hurting J'onn," she said. "An amazing person once told me, you can't fix everything."

I rolled my eyes. I hated when she used my words against me. "I said _you_ couldn't fix everything, that didn't mean I couldn't."

"Well, not to dismiss your lunch, but don't you have a date to be getting ready for?" asked Kara, with a grin bigger than usual.

"I'm so nervous," I admitted, feeling that smile I got every time I thought of Rae. I reached for my phone to check the time and realized I must have left it at J'onn's when I rushed out. "Dammit, I forgot my phone when I left lunch. What time is it?"

"Time for you to go and change your outfit about five times and put on that new perfume I've smelt you wearing this week," answered Kara, gently pushing me towards the door. "Don't be nervous, you're amazing and anyone would be lucky to spend an evening with you."

"Thanks Kara," I said, giving my sister a hug before heading home.

* * *

I had brought Mom home and got her to bed. I checked her inhibitor to make sure it was still working and everything seemed fine.

"I'm not sure what's causing you to feel sick Mom," I said, covering her up. "I think it would be best if we went into the DEO and ran some tests."

"Don't be silly, I'm fine. I just need a quick nap and then you can be on your way to meet Agent Danvers," she said, sounding weaker than on the phone.

"Mom, I'm not leaving you to look after Charlie while you're not feeling well. Alex will understand," I said, slightly disappointed that I'd have to cancel with Alex. "I can monitor you for now while you rest, but tomorrow, we need to go to the DEO. We need answers."

I picked Charlie up off the bed and closed the door to my Moms' room so she could rest. We headed to the kitchen and I sat Charlie in her high chair with a snack. I stared at my phone wondering what to say to Alex. I felt horrible for having to cancel but now I had no babysitter. Finally, I sucked it up and dialled the phone number. It rang until voicemail picked up. I sighed, hating that I'd have to leave a message.

"Hey Alex, it's me. I'm really sorry to do this but I'm going to have to reschedule. I don't have a babysitter for Charlie. Something's come up with my mom. I'm so sorry. I really hope we can still make this happen, I was really looking forward to tonight. Anyways, give me a call when you get this."

"Lame," I mumbled to myself, feeling super bummed and worried that Alex would take the cancellation the wrong way. I looked over at Charlie, who was still working on her cracker.

"Well Miss, looks like it's just you and me tonight," I said, making her laugh. "I'm thinking pizza, what do you think?"

Charlie clapped her hands and mumbled something that resembled half of the word pizza.

"Okay, sounds good to me," I said, picking her up and moving to the living room floor with all her toys. I kept checking my phone waiting for Alex to text or call me back. I was already regretting my message. I put my phone down, resisting the urge to call her again.

* * *

I checked my hair for what felt like the hundredth time and it still looked the same. I grabbed my keys and the flowers I picked up on the way home. I knew they were cheesy but I wanted to do this right. My relationship with Maggie always felt born out of drama and rushed into passion because we were running high on adrenaline. It made things great but I wanted this time to be different. I wanted to take things slow with Rae and actually feel everything. I wanted to strip everything back so we know exactly what we want in one another; that's what I need. And old fashioned dating did that, so flowers it was. I reached for my phone to check the time and annoyingly remembered I still didn't have it. Finding the clock on the stove, I figured I could leave now and causally be a couple minutes early. I grabbed my helmet and headed towards Rae's.

With each passing house, my stomach became more and more knotted. I fought dangers every day and I've never been this nervous. What was crazier was that I've seen Rae almost everyday for almost half a year and she still made me feel this way. I pulled up in front of her house and pulled off my helmet. I saw Rae in the window, dancing around with Charlie. They were laughing and twirling around and I had never seen anyone so beautiful. I left my helmet on the bike and grabbed the flowers and headed up the walkway. I took a couple deep breaths before knocking. The moments between my hand leaving the door and it opening felt like forever and my heart was crashing against my chest.

"Hi! How much do I owe-Alex?" answered Rae, looking shocked and confused.

"Hey, I know I'm a little early," I said, when I saw her confusion.

"You didn't get my message," said Rae, looking behind the door to check on Charlie. "Sorry, I should've tried again."

"I don't have my phone," I mumbled, realizing Rae had cancelled our date. "You wanted to cancel and I came anyway. I'm sorry. I'll go."

"No, Alex, wait," she said, reaching for my hand and stopping me. "I definitely did not want to cancel. I was really looking forward to tonight. But something's up with my mom, she's not feeling well. It's actually something I wanted to discuss with you. Obviously, not at this moment. But, at some point. And now, I'm rambling because I was super nervous for tonight and now you're here and I'm not dressed and I'm not ready and I don't have a babysitter."

I smiled as she rambled and pulled her blonde hair to one shoulder. Something, I've come to recognize as a thing she did when she was anxious.

"I think you look great," I said, when she finally stopped talking and met my eyes. I handed her the flowers.

She smiled and smelled them. "Thank you, they're beautiful." She checked behind the door, once again.

"Well, I should go," I said, pointing at the bike. "But we should definitely reschedule."

"Actually," she said, pausing to think about what to say next. "I know it's not the most romantic first date, but pizza and a cute third wheel could still be a fun night." She pushed the door wide open to reveal Charlie climbing up the step from the living room. I couldn't help but laugh as the baby clapped and pointed at me. Charlie took another couple of steps once she conquered the stair and reached out towards me. I picked her up and smiled at her.

"Pizza and this adorable girl, sounds perfect," I said, accepting the invitation in.

* * *

"Okay, she's in her crib, but still in her clothes. I didn't want to risk waking her to attempt pyjamas. I think I've handled bombs that were easier to put down than that baby," said Alex, taking the wine glass I offered her and laughing. "Thank you."

"I'm sure you have! And when she wakes up after a power nap, you're in trouble." We walked back into the living room and I picked up the toys we had all over. Alex started to help. "Oh you don't have to do that, I'm just making room so we can sit."

"I think I pulled majority of these out of there," she smiled, passing me a handful of toys to put in the toy box. "I think I was having more fun than Charlie."

"Charlie had a blast, she's so comfortable around you. It's nice to see her open up to someone other than my mom and I. She's usually pretty shy. She definitely never falls asleep in my lap without some coaxing," I admitted.

"Really? I'm glad she likes me. She's got quite the personality already. She's just like you," said Alex, sitting on the couch and taking a sip of her wine.

"Thank you for being so understanding about tonight. I know it wasn't what I had in mind for our first date but-"

"But it was amazing," finished Alex, turning in her seat so we were facing one another once I joined her on the couch. The flames from the candles I had lit earlier were dancing in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Yes," I agreed. "It was."

I saw her eyes drop to my lips and I pushed her hair back before letting my fingers brush through it. I moved closer and felt her soft lips on mine. I closed my eyes and it felt like fireworks through my body. I traced her bottom lip with my tongue and I felt her hand slide up my neck as she deepened the kiss. I leaned back against the arm of the couch and felt Alex lean into me. Her body fit perfectly against mine, my hands were moving under her shirt, feeling her soft skin.

"Mama?" came through the monitor linked with Charlie's room. Alex stopped and leaned back with a smirk.

"Sorry," I said, checking the monitor and seeing Charlie roll over before falling back asleep. We didn't say anything while we tried to catch our breath. I reached out and touched a piece of her hair that had fallen around her face again.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," Alex said. I leaned back up to reach Alex, who was still sitting between my legs.

"Me too," I answered, before kissing her again. She kissed me back. I wanted so much more but she pulled back and looked into my eyes.

"I should get going," she said. We heard movement from the monitor again and both smiled.

"Yeah," I agreed, knowing any second that little voice would call my name again. We stood and I walked Alex to the door, handing her jacket to her.

"Thank you for tonight," she smiled, holding my hand.

"I'm glad you stayed," I answered. I pulled her to me by the front of her jacket and felt her hands on my hips. Our lips met once more, slowly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, opening the door. I nodded, wanting to pull her back and kiss her all night.

"Good night," I said, watching her walk down the driveway to her bike. As she drove away, I closed the door, leaning against it. I let out a huge breath and couldn't stop the smile that appeared.

* * *

"Good morning!" I smiled, as Kara walked over to the Command Centre. Her face instantly broke into a huge grin.

"Well, good morning! You're awfully chipper! Much more chipper than your usual non-morning self. I take it the date went well?" she asked, leaning on the desk with both elbows.

"It was amazing," I said. "And it all started off so unexpected. She had called to cancel because she didn't have a sitter. But I didn't have my phone, so I ended up going to pick her up anyways. We stayed in with Charlie, and played, and talked, and ate pizza. And it was kind of perfect."

"Oh my god! Talk about everything happening for a reason! That's so cute!" gushed Kara. Then she stopped to look at me.

"What?" I asked.

"I missed this Alex. You look really happy," she said.

"I feel pretty happy," I agreed. "I couldn't stop smiling all night."

"So, are you going to make me pry out the details?" Kara asked, nudging my arm.

I was about to go on when I saw Rae walking in with her family. "Later," I blushed and walked around the desk to greet them. Charlie was walking, holding Rae's hand and I thought pointing at Supergirl. But when she got close enough she walked right around Kara and came to me.

"Good morning Sunshine!" I said, squatting down as Charlie ran to me. I picked her up and gave her a squeeze.

"Sorry Supergirl," I heard Rae say. "Alex taught Charlie how to fly last night and she hasn't stopped talking about it all morning. Looks like she's got her own superhero."

"That's okay," replied Kara, watching me with Charlie. "Agent Danvers is pretty amazing."

"Can I get that in writing?" I asked, lifting Charlie onto my shoulders so she could pretend to fly again. I heard her giggle and it made me smile. While we made our way around the Command Centre, an agent brought Rae a gurney for her mother. "Good morning Mrs. Gand, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Good morning Agent Danvers. I think I feel slightly worse than yesterday, but only slightly," she answered, looking at Rae.

"Okay, let's head up to Med Bay and find out what's going on," I said, also looking at Rae. Our eyes met and I felt a blush rush across my face. She started to push the bed and I walked beside her with Charlie.

"How was the rest of your night?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation light.

"It was good. I think I'm getting an understanding of what happens to the DNA when we enter Earth's atmosphere" she said. "How about you?"

"Well, I definitely wasn't tired so I went for a little drive and checked on things here," I smiled.

"I think I would've liked if you had stayed longer," she said in almost a whisper, giving me a side glance.

"Me too," I replied. I opened the door to Med Bay and held it while Rae pushed her mom through. I had already set up everything we needed, hoping that it would bring some comfort to Rae. She was definitely having some trouble covering up her concern.

* * *

I breathed a small sigh of relief when Alex found that my mothers' inhibitor had a small crack in it. Apparently, my mom had slipped down the stair while playing with Charlie and didn't want to worry me.

"We need Winn working on a more durable and permanent solution. If this cracked from a small fall, imagine what could happen while you're being slammed into and through a wall," said Alex, looking at the inhibitor under a microscope. My mom was sitting with Charlie and Supergirl, who had come in to give us a hand.

"Do you think that's all it was? A small fall?" I asked, staring at the inhibitor. "Or do you think there's more to the story than she's telling me?"

"You mean something more, like in Mr'ynns case?" she asked, looking up from the scope. I nodded. "I think she would tell you if she needed help."

"She lied about slipping on the stair," I pointed out. "She could've died from lead poisoning." I stood up and walked out of Med Bay. I didn't want my mom to see I was getting worried. Alex followed me into the hall.

"I just mean, I think she would have to tell you because she couldn't put herself in a situation where her ability to take care of Charlie would be impacted." Alex walked over to me and touched my arm. "It's important to be aware and open to the possibilities, but you can't always assume that there's a problem. Sometimes, things just happen, they get fixed and we move on."

"I know. I just hate feeling like I'm not in control."

"So, you're admitting you have control issues?" asked Alex, as she walked back over to the microscope.

"I didn't say that," I smiled.

"That's literally what you just said," argued Alex, grinning. "I just want to know what I'm getting myself into here."

"I just like knowing what's going to happen," I laughed.

"Mhmm," she smiled, getting back to work.

"Guys, there's a lead on the Pestilence outbreak. Mon-el and I are going to go check it out," interrupted Supergirl. We nodded and watched her head out.

"I'm going to get these guys home. If the world killers are close, I don't want them anywhere near here in case of a breach," I said.

"I agree. I'll grab your Mom a sling, which should help until the freezing wears off her shoulder. Do you want an agent to sit on the house while your mom recuperates?"

"No, she should be okay. Thanks though, for everything," I said.

* * *

I gave Charlie one last hug and handed her over to Rae.

"Thanks again for your help today," said Rae, swinging Charlie onto her hip. "I really appreciate it."

"Of course," I smiled. "Just remind your mom to take it easy. And keep that remote somewhere safe. We don't need an encore of what happened when you were using this one. I'll check in with Winn to see where he's at with the updated inhibitors."

"Okay. And maybe I could thank you with a real dinner, once we catch the world killers?" asked Rae, covering Charlie's ears. "Just me and you this time?"

I laughed, as Charlie tried to wiggle away from her mom's hands. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay, I'll see you when I get back," said Rae, leaning and kissing my cheek. "Don't get into any trouble without me."

"I won't," I said, wanting more of Rae's touch. I watched the SUV drive out of our garage and headed back inside.

"Okay, what's the plan? How do we get this last world killer?" I asked, as we all stood around the table.

"Well, unlike Purity and Reign, her thing is to spread disease and death across the planet," explained Mon-el.

"So we need to know what we're up against," said J'onn. "Alex, Winn we have civilians that are sick. We need tests run and samples taken. Mon-el, Brainy we need the cure extracted and doses ready."

Everyone nodded and set off to complete their tasks. J'onn walked over to me.

"Where's Rae?" he asked.

"She's just taking her family home, Sir. She won't be long."

"Right, let's get her on the birds when she gets back. We need to know how this is spreading, whether it's airborne or not. Until then, let's act like it is and take all precautions," he said, talking about me specifically, since he would be able to fight it off better.

I text Rae to let her know about the assignment and headed up to Med Bay to get supplies. This was going to be a long day.


	7. Chapter 7

I wasn't expecting to be stuck on bird duty, but gathering as much information on the virus was critical to the mission. I walked down to the lab where the birds that survived their fall from the sky were being monitored. I wasn't a big fan of birds to begin with and the dark lab wasn't helping. I used the code to open the door and was shocked to find the room completely silent. I moved in to survey the cages, only to be greeted with death. They hadn't survived the few hours since being brought in. I rushed to the monitors, hoping to find it was due to injuries from the fall opposed to the fast moving virus. But that wasn't the case. I read the results twice and called Alex immediately. She picked up on the second ring.

"Agent Danvers," she answered.

"Hey, it's me. I've got bad news. All the birds are dead. It appears their organs began to shut down simultaneously and ultimately massive organ failure killed them all."

"You're sure?" she asked, keeping a level voice.

"Yes. I'm still working on narrowing down the time line but based on their average size, it looks like they survived four hours, max. Not including the incubation period." I heard Alex sigh before answering.

"Okay, see if you can still figure out how it's being contracted. Then help Mon-el with the cure because these people have already been down three hours. Who knows how much longer they'll have."

"Got it. Be careful," I said, before hanging up the phone. I headed to the Legion ship to find Mon-el. He needed to know time was of the essence.

Walking into the Legion ship I found my cousin hooked up to the transfusion machine.

"Hey," I said, my eyes going to the new age technology.

"Hey. How's your mom?" he asked, sitting up straighter.

"She's okay. She was being poisoned by lead because she slipped down the stairs and didn't want me to worry," I said, rolling my eyes. I looked around the beautiful ship. "Why did you ever leave this ship?"

"Love," he smirked, half-heartedly.

"How's that going?" I asked, when I heard his tone.

"I'm not really sure at the moment," he said, squeezing his hand while the machine pumped out his blood.

"Just have to hang in there," I squeezed his shoulder while I looked at the transfusion machine. "If there's anything I've learned about love, it's that it's not something you can hide from. Once Charlie and I left Earth one, my plan was to hide in the Phantom Zone until I could figure out how to make it on my own. But being lonely, it's just as painful as having your heart broken. It's true what they say; it is better to have loved." He nodded in agreement and breathed out a sigh. "Anyways, I have an update."

Mon-el looked up to see my face, "not good, I presume."

"The birds are dead. Organ failure. We need this cure, or people are going to die," I said, as the machine beeped.

"It won't take Brainy long now," said Mon-el.

"Okay, I'm going to go back and try to figure out how it was contracted," I looked back at him from the door. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"From what Brainy says, we have no idea what's coming."

* * *

We walked back into the DEO with only the knowledge of how the virus was spreading but we weren't any closer to finding Pestilence. I headed up to Med Bay to find Rae, but she wasn't there.

"Rae is still in the lab on the bottom floor, she's been studying the virus," stated Brainy, without taking his eyes away from what he was working on.

"Thanks Brainy," I said, heading downstairs. I found Rae in the dark lab, huddled around a microscope.

"Hey," I said, walking up behind her. I saw her jump and touched her shoulders to reassure her. "Hey, it's just me. Sorry, I thought you would've heard me coming down."

"No. I didn't, I must not have been paying attention. I can't believe what I'm looking at. Look at this. The virus is multiplying at crazy speeds; it's so much more advanced than anything here on Earth. If I can figure out how to slow it down, maybe I can buy you guys some more time. What do you think?"

"Yeah, that would definitely help. We've figured Pestilence is injecting her victims through contact. We were able to narrow it down to a scratch all the victims had on their hands. We're scanning images and security video now to see who had the ability to come into contact with everyone."

"How are the victims from this morning?" Rae asked, pulling her eyes from the screen and turning to me.

"Not good. But Mon-el was bringing doses of the cure over to the hospital when we got back. So that should start to help," I said, brushing my fingers through my hair. I saw Rae smirk before returning to her computer.

"What?" I asked, trying to see her face.

"Nothing," she answered, still smirking.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked, catching myself smiling for the first time since I left her this morning. I turned her chair around so she could face me.

"Nothing, I just like when-"

"Guys!" shouted Winn, rushing through the door and interrupting Rae. "The woman we thought was Pestilence is dead. She's human and the latest victim."

"Dammit," I murmured. "Where is Supergirl now?"

"She's on her way back to search for another lead," answered Winn, typing onto his tablet.

Rae stood up, her smirk replaced with concern, "Winn. You're nose."

Winn looked up and touched his nose. His eyes grew big as he pulled his hand away and saw the blood.

"Supergirl?" I called, reaching for my earpiece. "You better get back here fast. It's Winn."

"What's happening?" asked Winn, suddenly unsteady on his feet.

Rae hurdled to his side and caught him as his legs gave out from under him. She lifted him up and looked at me.

"Let's get him up to Med Bay," I said, opening the door for them.

* * *

We hooked Winn up to the monitors and pushed meds to keep him comfortable. I couldn't believe how fast his condition had worsened in front of our eyes.

"I got it," said Alex, entering the Med Bay. She held up a vial of the cure she received from the Legion ship. "This should have you back on your feet in no time, according to Brainy."

"Oh, well, if Brainy says so," mocked Winn.

I looked over the scans that were coming back from Winn's blood test. The aggressive virus was infiltrating Winn's body at miraculous speeds. He was lucky we had the cure on hand; it was hard to say how much time he would have otherwise. Alex joined me at the computers, looking worried.

"He's going to be okay," I quietly reassured her.

"This virus is moving at lightning speed, we both know that. What if the cure doesn't work in time?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"You can't think like that. He's got the best people working on him," I said, nudging her shoulder. I saw her worry lighten for a brief moment. "I'm going to run back downstairs and see if I can work out that solution to slowing this thing down."

"Okay, I'll keep you posted on any changes," she said, taking over the monitors.

"Call me if you need anything," I said, squeezing her arm.

I headed back down to the lab; it felt even more dark and dreary down here after leaving with Winn in my arms. According to the monitors, the virus was getting more aggressive with every scan we took. But the more I understood about this virus, the deeper I understood how dismal Winn's future looked without that cure. Hours had passed when Mon-el and Brainy walked in.

"I thought that at least with having an agent down, it would turn into a positive lead with Winn being able to identify who scratched him," explained Brainy.

"Yeah, but the scratch isn't manifesting until symptoms do which is enough time for the world killer to infect as many people as she can and get out of there," said Mon-el. "How's it going down here?"

"Not well, I'm just getting more and more frustrated," I answered, pushing my keyboard away from me. "How can this virus be more complex than anything this world or our worlds have ever seen?" I asked, rhetorically. I was about to continue my rant when Brainy cut in.

"Hold on. Something is happening to Winn," he said, reading the data that was transmitting to him, I froze, terrified of what he would say next. "Ah, I see it. Because Pestilence is not technically the Blight, but the forbearer of it, the cure we have needs to be modified to fight her particular strand of the virus."

"So, how do we do that?" I asked, standing and looking at Brainy.

"The easiest way would be to get a piece of Pestilence's DNA," answered Mon-el.

"What happens if they can't find her? More people become infected and those already infected, die?" I asked.

"Yes, we need to find her as humanly, or non-humanly, as possible," said Mon-el.

"There's more," added Brainy.

"What more?" I asked, feeling overwhelmed and angry.

"It's Alex," he said. I looked at Mon-el and bolted out of the lab. I used my speed and ran up the stairs from the basement and bounded over the railing of the second floor balcony. Mon-el was right behind me. I ran to the door of Med Bay, only to see everyone huddled around Alex, lying motionless on the floor. I wanted to run to her. But seeing her lying there on the ground, I couldn't move. All my feelings for Alex that I had been trying to downplay were rushing to the surface. And now, the fear of losing her had me frozen in place.

"Take a deep breath," Mon-el whispered. "If anyone can help her right now, it's you." I watched as Supergirl picked Alex up and brought her to an empty bed beside Winn. "I've seen you work under far worse conditions. She needs you to stay calm, you can do this."

Collecting myself, I walked into Med Bay, everyone stepping aside to let me through. "What happened?" I asked, checking her vitals and listening to her chest.

"She just dropped like Winn, I think she hit her head. She has a bloody nose and scratch on her left hand," informed Supergirl, standing guard next to her sister.

"Okay, I'm going to get her set up with fluids," I said, putting on my gloves. "Start running the same tests we ran on Winn," I instructed the other medical personnel. I inserted an intravenous line, while the tech took a swab inside Alex's cheek. "I want this rushed and brought directly back to me."

"This is different from Winn's," said Supergirl. "He didn't lose consciousness."

"He also didn't hit his head," I answered, feeling around Alex's head. I gently opened her eyelids and shone a light against her eyes. "Her pupils are dilated. She probably has a concussion. You need to find Pestilence. We need her DNA in order to modify the cure. Brainy has been searching security footage and thinks he might know."

"I can't leave her," said a teary eyed Supergirl. I knew how she was feeling but the only way Alex would get the help she needed was if we had the vaccine fit to fight the specific strand.

"You're her only hope Kara," I said, feeling my emotions getting the better of me. "Not only for her, but Winn and the world." Kara squeezed her sisters' hand and held back her tears. "I'm not going anywhere, I'll keep you updated on every detail."

Before either of us could say anymore, Alex stirred. I moved to check the monitors.

"Alex? Can you hear me?" asked J'onn, joining Supergirl on the other side of Alex's' bed.

"I'm okay, I should be helping," coughed Alex. She looked weak, the colour drained from her face.

"You need to rest," ordered J'onn.

"Yeah, we're on this. I promise," assured Supergirl, looking at me. I nodded and moved away to get the next location of the world killer from Brainy.

"Alex, whatever you have attacking you, you are stronger than it," said J'onn. "No one is more of a fighter than you. Keep holding on, okay?"

I looked up to see Alex nod and Supergirl leaned down to kiss her head before she left.

"I want to know the slightest change," said Supergirl, on her way out.

"Understood," I answered. I watched everyone clear out and Supergirl get her information from Brainy. I started opening the files I needed to begin manipulating the virus. Alex was going to need more time while we found another cure.

"Rae," I heard, quietly from behind me. I turned to see Alex, with tears in her eyes. The tough exterior she wore in front of J'onn and Kara was gone. I walked to her bedside.

"Hey," I whispered, trying not to make full eye contact and maintain some control over my emotions. I adjusted her pain meds and fiddled with her lines. I felt her hand on my arm and I finally looked at her.

"I'm scared," she said.

I took her hand in mine and sat beside her. "I know, but I got you."

"I know how bad it is, I can't shoot my way out of this one. If something happens, I need you to look out for Kara," she said, with tears streaming down her face. "Tell her I loved being her big sister and that I love her."

"Alex," I tried, wiping my own tears.

"Please tell her," she asked again, I nodded. "And I'm sorry Rae. I'm sorry we didn't get as much time together as we could have. I love being with you and I let my fears get in the way of what I truly felt."

"Alex, I am not going to let anything happen to you," I said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "We'll have all the time. And I want all the time with you." I leaned in and kissed her lips. "I got you."

I sat with her until she fell asleep. With her vitals stable, I leaned down kissed her cheek. "Please hold on."

Sitting with Alex gave me time to come up with a plan. I had worked with bio warfare in the past but the supplies I would need, the DEO didn't have. But I knew who would; I needed Lena Luther.

Hours had passed. The agent I sent to L Corp had returned with the supplies I needed. When I called Lena, I was expecting more of a fight from her, especially when I asked for certain drugs. But she had sounded more distracted than anything. Being the top pharmaceutical company in the country, I thought she would want to have a hand in coming up with the cure. However, it seemed like she was willing to hand over whatever I needed just to get off the phone with me. I was close to a treatment to slow the virus down when Mon-el flew in carrying Supergirl.

"What happened?" I asked, directing him to the empty bed.

"I'm fine, just a little tired," answered Supergirl.

"Pestilence infected her," said Mon-el, looking frustrated. "We almost had her, she was fading but Purity showed up and made her stronger." I turned on the sun lamps and grabbed a tray to clean out the scratch along Kara's cheek. I turned her cheek to me and swabbed it.

"How's Alex?" asked Kara, in a voice that sounded like she was almost too scared to ask.

"It's not good, but my treatment to slow down the progression is almost ready," I said, meeting her eyes. "Did you get a piece of the world killer's DNA?"

"When I hit her, Mon-el was able to tangle her in his cape and we think we found a piece of her hair, but we're not sure," said Supergirl, looking at Alex and Winn.

"Okay, well that's a better chance than what we're running with now. I think I was able to narrow the virus down to its most simple form and slow down the mutation sequence. When it's ready, I'll give that to Alex and Winn. That will give Brainy a chance to test the hair and prepare doses of the modified treatment. He's on the Legion ship," I said to Mon-el. "When you return, I'll need you to drop the rest of the doses of the hindrance to the hospital," I asked, walking him out of Med Bay. "I might have bought us some time, but not a lot. Please, hurry."

Mon-el nodded his understanding and took off towards the ship. Just as I finished setting Supergirl up, the remedy to slow down the virus beeped, signalling its completion. Holding my breath, I leaked it into both lines of Winn and Alex and returned to my desk to measure out doses. My concentration was failing; all I wanted to do was be with Alex. Everything inside me wished it had been me instead of her. But knowing the lives of hundreds of people were on the line drove me to complete the mission before my own needs.

* * *

I could hear voices murmuring before I opened my eyes. I could see Rae behind her desk, talking on the phone while she scoured through files open on the computer. I lay still, knowing she would drop everything the moment I was awake. I watched her, taking in her confidence, her brilliance, just her. I was feeling a little better until the stirring in the bed next to me caught my attention.

"Oh, my god," I said, trying to sit up when I realized it was Kara. "Are you okay?"

She sat up right away and stammered. "Yes, I'm fine, just a little weak. Are you okay?"

"I'm alive," I answered, finally having it hit me, just how close I had come.

"Hey, nice to see you both up," said J'onn, joining them with a smile. "You had us a little worried there."

"Wait a minute, where's Winn?" I asked, noticing the third bed was empty.

"Against my better judgment, he's back at work," answered J'onn.

"Oh, what a suck-up," I mumbled, half joking, I wished I had been helping during this whole thing. J'onn smiled and stepped closer.

"You know selfishly, I'm really glad you're okay. I don't know how I would've made it through the next couple of months without you."

"You know I'd never let you go through something like alone," I said, returning his hug.

"I'll see you downstairs when you're ready," he said, excusing himself. "Rae, excellent work today," he called to her. She smiled her thanks, still busy on the phone.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you healthy again," said Kara, moving in for a hug. "You know, I think you may have made a good choice with that one," she said, looking over at Rae. "She hasn't left this bay, or your side, since you fell sick. She's worked non-stop to find a cure and before that, she started on an antidote that basically paused the virus from mutating. I think she saved a lot of lives today, including yours."

I felt her hug get tighter as she finished her last sentence. My eyes finally meeting Rae's, she hung up the phone and made her way over.

"I'll see you downstairs," said Supergirl, I nodded and watched her hug Rae, thanking her again.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" asked Rae, sitting on the edge of my bed and taking my wrist in her hand to check my pulse.

"Fine, thanks to you I hear," I held her hand once she was done.

"It was your sister and Mon-el who did all the heavy lifting," she smiled, looking at our hands. "I'm just glad you're okay, you scared me for a second."

"Scared myself," I admitted. "Thank you, for being there last night. I just didn't want Kara to see me like that and have her be distracted."

"Always," answered Rae, standing. "Well, I should get back, the hospital wants a break down of the treatments."

"Wait," I said, still holding her hand. I pulled her back to me and kissed her lips. "I'm glad I get to do this again."

Rae smiled against my lips and kissed me back, she sat back down on the bed and held me close. Her kisses were slow and deliberate, like she was trying to memorize my lips.

"Hey! I got a lead! Oh! My bad," interrupted Winn, unsure whether to leave or not. I rested my head against Rae's shoulder.

"What's the lead Winn?" I mumbled into her shirt.

"Okay, we're tracking Purity and her frequency has popped up," he said, checking his tablet. "It looks like they're heading for L Corp."

"L Corp?" I questioned.

"Oh my god, Lena," said Rae, standing up. "I called her for the drugs we used in the treatments. Could that make her a target?"

"Anything could make her a target. Get Supergirl, J'onn and Mon-el. Get there as fast as you can. I'll meet you there with a strike team."

* * *

I jumped off the balcony of the DEO and was following closely behind the others, jumping roof to roof. I should've known better than to involve a civilian and leave them unprotected. I jumped higher and landed beside the others on Lena's office balcony. We followed Supergirl further into the building.

"What do we think we're going to find here?" asked Mon-el.

"Hopefully just Lena, hard at work," answered Supergirl, listening for Lena's voice. We followed her down a couple more halls before she opened a door for us. It led to a secret lab.

"Lena, the world killers are on their way here. We need to get you somewhere safe," explained Supergirl. Everyone took a breath when we saw Lena at her desk. The moment, however, was short lived when we all saw her patient next to her. "Lena, what's going on here?"

"I was going to tell you," started Lena, standing up.

"Tell me what?"

But before anyone could answer, the two world killers burst through a door on the other side of the lab. Supergirl moved first but Purity blew us all away with her frequency. I felt myself being thrown across the floor along with shattered glass and furniture. I looked up to see Lena land against the shelf next to me and fall to the floor. I moved to her side to shield her from the chaos. The next few moments were a blur. It felt like a force field was holding us back until they finally took off and vanished into the sky.

"Lena? Are you okay?" I asked, kneeling beside her and holding her head and neck.

"I think so," she mumbled, brushing the debris from her face. I noticed a sizeable laceration on her arm.

"Hey, you've got a fairly big cut on your arm," I said, holding her bloody arm. I reached for a gauze kit from my pack. "We need to clean this out and stitch it up. Is there somewhere we can go?" I asked her, hoping to get out of the wreckage.

"We can head to my offic-"

"She doesn't leave our sight, until we figure out what's happening here," ordered J'onn.

"Yes sir, just need a clean environment to dress these wounds. Is everyone else okay?" I asked, looking everyone over before helping Lena up.

"Yeah, all good here," said Mon-el.

Stepping out into the hall, Alex rushed towards me seeing my bloody hands.

"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked, motioning the strike team to continue into the lab.

"Yeah, we're fine. We were thrown by the world killers and Lena obtained an arm lac, but a couple stitches and she'll be okay," I assured her. Alex looked at Lena, who was staring at the floor, and then back to me. I nodded towards the lab. Alex followed and headed into the lab.

"Lena?" I asked, trying to get her attention. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I was so close," she said, not breaking her stare. "I can still see it. I need a pen and paper."

We rushed into her office and she began scribbling down notes, leaving a bloody trail on her desk. "If I can just remember the steps I took to get to my last results, I can hopefully figure everything else out as well."

While she wrote, I tended to her arm. I administered local anaesthetic so it would set in before I started the stitches. Although, I was pulling out shards of glass and it wasn't even fazing her.

"Why hide what you were doing? I called and spoke with you, you could've mentioned something?" I asked.

"You had a task at hand, equally important. I figured if you could do one, I could do the other and we'd be ahead," she said, still writing. "Plus, if I came to the FBI with information that was incomplete, what good would that do?" She paused and looked at me for a second. "Why lie about working for the DEO?" I met her eyes when she named the department. "Oh please, my mother is wanted criminal number one. Of course I know about the DEO," she smirked.

"Ms. Luthor," interrupted J'onn and Alex. "I assume there is no concern about you trying to flee the country tonight?"

"No, I won't be going anywhere tonight," she answered dryly, going back to her notes.

"Right, then you're to report to the DEO tomorrow for questioning," he said.

"Assuming I have no other choice, I'll see you then," she said, without looking at him.

"I'll see you two downstairs when you're finished," J'onn said, as he left the office.

Alex watched me work, handing me the odd tool but still armed. "Where's Ruby?"

Lena looked at Alex for the first time since she entered the room. "She's safe."

Alex leaned over the desk, "how can you be certain?"

"Because not a lot of people know about where she is and the less that do, the safer she will be," argued Lena. "I promise you, her safety is just as important to me as it is you."

I finished dressing Lena's arm and gathered up my equipment. I knew Alex was getting frustrated with the situation, and with us all being friends, I didn't want her to say something she would regret.

"Okay, I think we're done here," I said, lifting my pack onto my shoulder. "We should find J'onn and the team." Alex was still staring at Lena, who also hadn't looked away. "We'll see you in the morning Lena," I said, trying to subtly guide Alex to the door.

"Thanks for your help Rae," Lena called to me as we left. I waved and turned to Alex, once I shut the door behind me.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

Alex put her hands on her head and paced back and forth.

"Hey, she said Ruby is safe. She's your friend, you have no reason to doubt her," I tried.

"Except the huge electrical cage she had Sam locked up in Rae!" she exclaimed.

"Okay," I said, ushering her into the elevator before Lena heard her. "I've been reading her research on multiple studies and she's thorough. She's brilliant when it comes to planning these things out. She knows every detail. Ruby is a big detail. If she says she's safe, we need to believe her for now," I said, taking her face in my hands. "If you still feel uneasy in the morning, we'll ask her for the location and we'll go get Ruby ourselves." Alex lifted her eyes to me and finally nodded in agreement. "You know, you should be in bed. You just got over a deadly virus," I said, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"When is the last time you've eaten or slept?" she countered, holding my cheek. I looked at her, not completely sure of either. "Maybe it's time someone takes care of you."

I leaned up and kissed her, "that sounds perfect."

We jumped into the DEO tactical vehicle and rode with the team back to the department. Once inside, we gathered at the command desk to hear our orders.

"Okay, right now we have agents scanning for Purity's frequency and monitoring any disturbances in the city. We need to be on high alert but until we learn more, you all need rest. Good work in the last forty-eight hours. We will get these guys," said J'onn, dismissing us.

"I'm just going to make a call to check in at home. Then grab a quick shower and I'll meet you back here?" I asked Alex.

"Yeah, sounds good," she said, heading in the direction of her office.

I stood under the hot water once I spoke to my mom. I should've known she would be awake waiting for my call. After finding out how her shoulder was and how Charlie was doing, I let her know I was okay and that I'd see her in the morning. Feeling the heat run off my shoulders and down my back, I took my first deep breath in the last two days. I hadn't realized how tense I had been. But now, knowing Charlie was safe, my mom was okay and that Alex was healthy; it felt like I could breath deeply again. I finished up and turned the water off. I headed back to my locker, wrapped in a towel. I found some clean track pants I was planning to work out in and grabbed another DEO long sleeve. I sat down on the bench to tie up my sneakers and took a second to take another deep breath. I heard someone walk in behind me and I stood.

"Hey," smiled Alex, standing between the rows of lockers.

"Hey," I said.

"Everything okay at home?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Charlie was asleep and my mom is feeling much better. She said to thank you again," I said, packing up my stuff.

"And you?" she asked, reaching out to take my bag.

"Me? I'm good," I said, putting on a bit of a front. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm just checking in, a lot has happened lately," Alex wiped a drip of water from my cheek, before kissing me. "Ready?"

I leaned back against my locker and bit my lip to try keep myself together, before catching up to her.

* * *

We walked into my apartment and left our bags by the door. "I can't believe the last forty eight hours," I said, heading to the kitchen.

"Is that all it's been? It's felt like a week," said Rae, leaning against the island. I pulled down two glasses and the bottle of Scotch. Rae accepted the glass and held it up to mine.

"To your full recovery," she toasted.

"I owe it all to you, so, thank you," I said, clinking her glass. We both downed the shots and refilled the glasses. "So, I might have ordered a pizza."

"Ugh! This why you're my favourite," Rae grinned, sauntering over to the couch and sitting down, rubbing her shoulder. "I didn't think I was overly tired, but now that I know everyone is safe, I think it's hitting me."

"Well, pizza shouldn't be long," said I, reaching for some plates.

"You really should be resting," said Rae, coming back into the kitchen. "May I?" she asked, holding up her watch and reaching for my wrist. She took my pulse. "It's a little fast. How are you feeling?" She felt my forehead for a temperature and I couldn't help but smile. "What?"

"Nothing," I said, sliding my hands up the arms that were trying to check my lymph nodes. "It's just that, my heartbeat always seems to speed up when you're around."

The knock at the door interrupted her exam and her response. But her lingering touch said enough. I pulled away and went to the door. By the time I handled the pizza guy, Rae had us set up on the couch. We sat back with our plates and watched a late show. When Rae was finished she put her plate on the table and stretched out her shoulder.

"What happened to your shoulder?" I asked, having seen her touch it a couple times.

"I think I just landed on it weird, when we were blown back in the lab," she said, trying to massage it. "It feels better now, just a little stiff."

"Let me look," I said, moving closer to her. She pulled her shirt up and pulled her arm out, revealing her sports bra and a lightly coloured bruise that covered her shoulder and triceps. "Looks like it's healing up already." She put her arm back in her shirt and I rubbed her shoulders for her. After a couple minutes of massaging her back, Rae leaned back and pulled my arms around her.

"This feels good," she said, as we both sank into the couch.

"Yeah, it does," I agreed, pulling a blanket over us.

* * *

The sun streaming into the room woke me. I slowly opened my eyes and slid my hand up from Alex's hip to her stomach.

"Good morning," mumbled Alex, stretching.

"Morning," I answered, smiling.

"You know, we could've slept in my bed," said Alex, running a hand through my hair.

"Sorry, I don't even remember falling asleep, I must've been pretty comfy," I answered.

"It's nice waking up with you," she said, lifting my chin to her and kissed my lips. "I'll make us some coffee." She slipped out from under me and I watched her walk into the kitchen.

"How are you feeling today, about the whole Lena thing?" I asked, sitting up and wrapping the blanket around my legs.

"Less angry, I think," Alex grabbed two coffee mugs from the cupboard. "Lena is brilliant, I know that. But the fact that she kept Sam from us, that's still not sitting well with me."

"Thanks," I said, taking the hot coffee. Alex sat back down on the couch and draped her legs over mine.

"And not knowing where Ruby is, or how she is doing, is driving me insane. What if something happened to Lena, we'd never be able to find her," she said, blowing into her mug.

"You wouldn't stop until you found her," I said, knowing how protective Alex was of Ruby. "But I understand, I wouldn't be able to focus either, if I didn't know who was taking care of Charlie or where she was."

"So what should I do?" she asked.

"Find her. It won't only bring Ruby more protection by having you there, but it'll give you peace of mind so that you can think clearly," I offered. Alex nodded.

"Speaking of a clear mind, I'm going to meet you at the DEO. I want to stop by the house this morning for some baby cuddles," I said, taking another sip of coffee and flipping the blanket on to Alex. I poured out the rest of my coffee and put my cup away. "Can I borrow this?" I asked, holding up her sweater.

"Sure," she smiled.

"I'll see you at work?" I asked, hovering at the door.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon," I heard as began to close the door. "You look good in my shirt."

I was laughing to myself as I headed to the elevator. I pressed the button and adjusted my bag on my shoulder. The elevator arrived and the doors opened. I almost ran into the person stepping out.

"Oh! Rae, good morning," grinned Kara, grabbing my shoulders to steady us.

"Morning Kara, sorry my head's in the clouds this morning," I said, switching spots with her and trying to hide my goofy grin.

"That's not a problem, I'll see you soon?" she asked.

"Yes, just stopping at home before work. See you in a bit," I answered, as the doors closed.

* * *

I was still lying on the couch when the knock on the door came and Kara walked in.

"Well, good morning!" smirked Kara. "And how was your night?"

I laughed and pulled the blanket over my head, so my sister couldn't see the ridiculous smile I had.

"I couldn't help notice Rae was wearing that same smile when I saw her on the elevator," she teased, pulling the blanket off me and sitting at my feet.

"We just fell asleep after dinner," I said. "Nothing happened."

"That smile you're beaming is saying otherwise," said Kara, taking bite of her muffin and handing me one.

"I know I said after Maggie, I wanted to keep things casual and not rush into anything. But with Rae, things just seem different. Even though, I feel like the cause of my outlook stems from recent events, its like those just come as a reminder that life is short," I shrugged, looking at the face Kara was sporting. "What?"

"Isn't that the exact same thing I've been telling you since you met Rae!" she exclaimed, throwing a pillow at me. "I know you were worried that you couldn't trust your feelings but I think, in this case, things are pretty clear."

I smiled into my cup and looked at Kara.

"Also, those smiles are so Rom Com central, I'm not sure how you can deny it."


	8. Chapter 8

After having breakfast with Mom and Charlie, I rolled into the DEO ready to be a neutral side in Lena's debriefing. I saw Lena outside the front entrance and walked up to her.

"Morning Lena," I greeted her.

"Rae, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. How's your arm?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Thank you though, for your help last night. I feel like I may need more of that coming up in this meeting."

"They just need as much information as they can get on these world killers. You're the closest anyone has got to study one of them. We're all on the same side," I said, trying to ease her nerves.

We walked inside together and saw everyone standing around the command desk. Supergirl was sporting a look that didn't really coincide with what I had just said.

"Ms. Luthor, we were able to recover most of your servers and have your research being transferred over to ours as we speak. We'll go ahead and debrief while that finishes," said J'onn, directing everyone to the conference room. Everyone began heading in that direction but J'onn stopped me.

"Rae, I want you to start looking through Ms. Luthor's research. If you can get a handle on what she was doing, we'll be able to verify most of what she's saying when we debrief her," he said, putting his hands on his hips. I know I hesitated before I answered, worried about some of the hostile feelings towards Lena, I wanted to be there to calm the waters.

"Is that a problem Agent Gand?" he asked.

"No Sir," I answered. "I'll get right on it."

He nodded and moved on to the conference room, where I saw Alex hanging back.

"Hey, everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, J'onn just wants me to start on the research. Don't shoot anyone while I'm gone, okay?"

"Of course," laughed Alex. "You're right, Lena is our friend and she wouldn't do anything to cause us harm," she answered. "I was also wondering if I could ask you a favour?"

"Yeah, anything."

"If I get a location of where Ruby is, will you come with me to get her? I know you've been away from Charlie for a couple days, so if you want to stay back, I totally understand, I just could use the backup and-"

"Yes, I'm in. My mom and Charlie will understand, I'm a mom who works. It's all about balance," I answered.

Alex nodded and turned to walk down the empty hallway, "plus, it might give me a chance to wake up next to you again."

Alex turned, grinning and bit her lip, playfully. When she entered the conference room, I headed back to Med Bay to start looking over Lena's research.

Winn was already there with an array of tablets and screens. "Hey Rae! Whataya say?"

"Hey Winn," I said, walking over to the servers. I picked one up that had been fried. "You were able to pull data off of this?"

"Because I'm a genius, yes," he said, with a smirk, handing me a tablet. "Well, not all of it, but a formidable chunk."

"Glad, you're being so modest about it," I smiled, taking the tablet. I started going over scans and comparing them to the tests we had taken off Sam weeks ago.

"Want a coffee or something? I have to keep this mind tip top," he said, twirling his screen on his desk.

"No, I'm good," I was already amazed at how far advanced Lena's scans had been compared to ours. "This is unbelievable. Lena's work starts at levels we took days to get to."

"Yes, well Lena does come from a long line of evil villains. Their minds tend to work quite differently than the average person."

"First off, you're talking about Alex, who isn't average by any means. And just because Lena's family was rotten doesn't mean she is. People aren't reflections of what others say of them," I argued, finding Lena's latest research.

"You seem to speak from experience," said Winn, pulling a stool up next to mine.

"When my Aunt Rhea found out I had been helping to save the wounded from either side, she put me on blast. She had people believing I did unimaginable acts, letting our people die while I watched. And I mean people I considered close to me, my friends, my family. Instead of confronting me and talking to me, they completely forgot about who I was and just saw a traitor. I don't want that to happen to Lena," I said, pulling up Reigns DNA. "Is this the last transfer you have?"

"So far," he said, typing something up. "We have this blown up server, but pulling anything off it has been a bust."

"She was right there. She knew how to suppress Reign and she knew how to trigger her. This is amazing; she's literally one step away from understanding what sparks Sam into Reign on a genetic and molecular level, "I said, scouring through Lena's work. I could hear Winn talking in the background but my mind was focused in on what I was seeing. Unpacking what Lena had found, expedited my understanding of not just the world killers DNA, but my own. The absorption of solar radiation and the contradictions of kryptonite were astounding. If I could spend some time with Lena, I think we could really get somewhere.

* * *

I left the meeting with Lena with an uneasy feeling. My questions still hadn't been answered and I still wasn't convinced that Ruby was secure. I headed up to Med Bay to find Rae. The second I saw her, poured over tablets and scrawling her chicken scratch notes onto her stack of papers, I felt better. I walked in and leaned my elbows on her desk beside her, knocking her pen in a streak across her paper.

"You're lucky you're cute," she said, finishing her thought before turning towards me. "How'd it go?"

"Well, it was going okay until Lena divulged that she used kryptonite to subdue Reign. Supergirl didn't appreciate that," I answered, looking over the information laid out.

"No, I can imagine that not going over well," said Rae. "What about information wise? Did we learn anything new?"

"Nothing that can help us track them," I sighed. I pulled on the zipper of my hoody Rae was still wearing. "Let's just run away together and pretend this isn't happening."

Rae moved closer to me and covered my hand with hers. "And miss all this fun?" she asked, looking out at all data. She leaned in and kissed me. My head floated and my body melted as I felt her fingers caress my neck. "I am looking forward to that date when everything settles though."

"Agent Danvers!" we heard shouted in our earpieces. "Supergirl just collapsed on the second floor."

The worst-case scenarios began flashing across my mind. Rae's hand dropped to her side and I felt my feet moving before I could tell them to. I rushed back to the conference room and felt Rae on my six. When we turned the corner, I saw Lena leaning over my sister, taking her vitals.

"What happened?" I asked, kneeling down beside them. Rae leaned in assessing Supergirl's neck and spine.

"One second we were talking and the next she was on the floor," explained Lena. We didn't have to wonder for long, as Supergirl came to. Rae supported her as she tried to sit up. "Hey, take it easy. Are you okay?"

Supergirl tried to focus, leaning against Rae. "I'm fine. I don't know what happened."

"Whatever is causing that eclipse is draining your powers. That's not a normal eclipse though. The earth and the moon turn on an axis and no amount of technology can change that," explained Lena, reaching out for Supergirl's hand to help her up.

"That's because this isn't technology," said Supergirl.

"Let's get you to med bay," I said, trying to direct them.

"I'm fine," said Supergirl. "Whatever is happening, it's happening because of magic."

"Really?" Lena rolled her eyes.

"Dark magic," she answered, walking on to the command centre. "Reign, Purity, Pestilence; they were all created by Kryptonian witches to do one thing - kill the world. Now that they're together, that's what they're going to do."

"How do you know that?" asked Lena.

"There's no apocalypse in the book of Roa, but I think I know what they're doing and I have a plan," answered Supergirl. "But we'll need Brainy."

"I'll go find him," offered Rae.

I watched Rae turn back to the Legion ship before focusing in on listening to the plan.

* * *

By the time I got back from the Legion ship with Brainy, everyone looked ready for a mission.

"How can I help?" asked Brainy.

As we listened to the plan for Brainy to use thirty first century technology, I realized that the plan put everyone at risk that was involved. With the encroaching eclipse, all of us would be weakened and without powers, but with Supergirl carrying the others into another dimension, she would be most significantly affected. Lena has zero field experience and, as far as I was aware, zero battle experience. That's where Alex came in. She was going in order to protect both of them. But having just come out of Med Bay and narrowly escaping a deadly virus, I was concerned for her well being.

After Brainy finished explaining how he could make the plan happen, everyone headed back to the Legion ship.

"Agent Danvers, can I have a word with you please?" I asked, holding her back.

"Hey, what's up?"

"With all due respect, in my medical opinion, I'm not sure you should be doing this," I said, trying not to sound like a delirious girlfriend. "Just hours ago, you were fighting to stay alive and now you're just going to jump into another dimension?"

"Rae, that's the nature of the job. Sometimes, it's one dangerous task after another, you should know that better than anyone," said Alex. "Plus, Winn is back to work. If he can handle it, I can definitely handle a simple dimension jump. I'm going to watch my sisters back, no matter what."

"Well, I'm watching your back now," I answered.

"I knew you wouldn't like it. But there isn't anyone else I'd rather have watching out for me. And, thanks to you, I feel fine," said Alex, reaching for my hand. "Besides, knowing I can rely on you out here makes going out there a thousand times easier."

I sighed, trying to think of something else to convince her to stay but at the same time, I knew she wouldn't let Supergirl go alone.

"Just be careful," I settled on instead.

"Always," she smiled and left for the ship.

I headed back to my desk to continue going over Lena's data. Hopefully, it would at least keep my mind off Alex. I couldn't help my feelings at this point. I had been trying to keep them low key for Alex, in order to respect her stance on moving slow. But seeing how quickly I could lose her made me want to be more open about how I felt about her. I've known I've wanted to explore a relationship with Alex outside of work, the chemistry we have is undeniable. The thought of being on this planet without her really put my feelings into perspective. I know Alex didn't want our relationship to grow out of that fear or that adrenalin, but it was like she said; our type of work will do that. Now, I just wanted to tell her how I really felt, except I couldn't because she was in another dimension. I picked up a tablet and tried to read over the research but my mind couldn't leave the Legion Ship. Knowing I would get nothing done here, I packed up my work and headed to the ship to oversee what was happening.

When I walked in and saw Alex, unconscious, my stomach and my heart sank, again.

"Fifty four minutes to totality," said Brainy, monitoring the eclipse. I walked over to the screens to check their vitals.

"Everyone looks okay," I said to Mon-el. He looked concerned. Supergirl stirred in her chair and Mon-el walked out. J'onn followed him down the corridor. Giving them space, I walked over to Alex and held her hand as she stirred a little. I gently squeezed her fingers, hoping to send her a signal that I was there with her. I sat by her side until Mon-el and J'onn returned and I figured I'd step back and try to get some work done.

It had been quiet for quite some time, with the exception of Brainy counting down to totality. Supergirl began to struggle.

"Ten minutes to totality," he declared, going over her vitals. "She can't take much more." Brainy hovered over Supergirl about to remove her receptor.

"Keep her in," declared Mon-el.

"She's only got minutes," Brainy announced. The disagreement caught my attention and my eyes flew to their vitals on the screens behind each woman.

"I said keep her in," repeated my cousin.

"Mon-el, her vitals are fluctuating like crazy. This could kill her," I argued, agreeing with Brainy.

"They have a mission to complete," Mon-el said coldly.

"A mission that could kill one, if not all of them," I said, getting annoyed with his stubbornness.

"We've been given orders, we'll follow them and do what we need to do," he answered. He moved closer to me so that no one else would hear what he had to say. "Supergirl asked me to keep her in until she completed the mission, do you think this is easy for me?"

I didn't agree with what he was doing, regardless of who had asked. I walked away and checked their vitals again. Lena and Alex were much more stable than Supergirl, whose alarms were beginning to sound.

"It worked, we've got a location," said Winn, looking over the computers.

"Pull them out now," ordered Mon-el, immediately.

All three women jolted back to life, as if awaking from a bad dream.

"It worked?" asked Supergirl, already climbing out of her chair.

"Like a charm," quipped Mon-el, his attitude a little lighter.

"Whoa, you guys should take it easy," J'onn suggested.

"When has that ever stopped us," asked Supergirl.

I briefly caught Alex's eyes before they started to move out. She gave me a smile that reassured me that she was okay. I watched her hesitate for a moment before Winn called her over. I found Lena who was rubbing her neck.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"She had her hand around my throat before we got pulled out. I couldn't breath," she said, looking relieved to have returned when they did.

"Let me have a look," I offered, pulling the collar of her shirt. "No physical marks."

"Yeah, guess that's the upside to fighting in different dimensions," said Lena, going over to help Brainy. "I hate the feeling of being helpless."

"I know what you mean,"I said.

"Hey! You ready?"

I turned at Alex's voice and was surprised to see her in a different uniform. "Wow, you clean up pretty nice Agent Danvers."

"I know a guy," she winked at Winn. "Let's go."

* * *

We joined the others at the launch bay and J'onn phased us all with him into the lair of the world killers. We outnumbered them, but once the fight started, you wouldn't have known. Supergirl and Reign immediately faced off, crashing through rock walls. I shot at Reign, who got up faster than Supergirl. It knocked her back a hundred yards. I looked at my new weapon in disbelief.

"Thanks," my sister smiled, before going after the world killer.

Smirking with delight at my new gun, I went to help the others. I saw Mon-el punch Pestilence through the ceiling and Rae jump through the air and bring her crashing back to the ground. J'onn was battling against Purity's sound frequencies and was struggling to take her down. They collided and she threw him against a wall. She was about to stand over him when I called to her. Taking a long shot, I used her human name, hoping to connect with her once again. She stared me down.

"Come on Julia," I said, my gun trained on her. "You've got to rise up!"

She didn't answer, instead belting at me with one of her screeches. I pulled the trigger and the collision of the two blew us both back and off our feet. It winded me and I couldn't move. I saw Supergirl hurdling through the air and landing hard with Reign on her again. I looked for my gun. Reign kicked Supergirl, sending her against the rocks. I finally called for my gun but when I swung my arm around to take aim, Reign was on me.

"Alex!" I heard Supergirl yell.

She picked me up by my neck and watched me squirm before heaving me out of her way. I skidded across the gravel. I tried picking myself up but it knocked the remaining air out of my lungs. I tried to look around only to feel Rae fall beside me, she had been weakened with the eclipse and left powerless. I pulled myself to her and felt for her pulse. Panic set in when I couldn't find it. Pestilence joined Reign, both looking strong despite the lack of yellow sun. Shielding Rae, I tried Julia again.

"Julia, please. Rise up!" I called, hearing Supergirl do the same. The next thing I knew, the world killers had turned on one another and were fighting to the death. Reign had been knocked to the side, while Pestilence and Purity went head to head. In seconds, both were on the ground, taking their last breaths.

"No!" yelled Supergirl, who finally had her powers back. She ran to Julia.

Rae stirred as the sun returned and I helped her to Julia's side. She knelt down, assessing the damage done.

"She's not going to make it," said Supergirl, already knowing the sacrifice Julia had made to help us.

"Let's get out of here," ordered J'onn, with the hideout crumbling all around us.

I found Rae and held onto her as she jumped out of the falling rock and back to the Legion ship.

The short trip back to the DEO was quiet, the team feeling the loss that was Julia and the fact that Reign was still out there. We met back up at the command centre with Supergirl returning from her fly over the hideout.

"The fortress is just gone. Like it wasn't even there," she stated.

"Hey! We defeated two out of the three world killers," chimed Winn, in his usual positive tone. "Like that's a win."

"And we'll find Sam," I added. "Somehow."

"I know," mumbled Supergirl. "Um, hey! Cool new suit!"

I grinned, remembering my gift. "Winn did me a solid!" I said, reaching out to fist pump him.

"Yes, upgrades," he agreed.

"Well, I've been asking the director for one for years, but I just kept getting denied," I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm, looking at J'onn. I heard Rae chuckle from beside me.

"Blame it on congress, I don't write our budgets," he smirked. "Besides, don't you miss your polo? It looked like it was sweat wicking?"

"I have a really cool new gun, don't think it won't work on you," I joked back.

Everyone started to head his or her own way and I looked to Rae. I nodded towards my office and we left in that direction. I opened my door and held it for her. Shutting it behind me, I felt Rae's hands on my waist. I turned myself in her arms and was face to face with her. She smiled and kissed my lips.

"I'm not sure if it's the new suit, or, fighting next to you, but I've been wanting to do this since we left," she said, pushing me against the door. I felt her tongue on my lips and let her in, pushing my fingers through her hair. I'm not sure how long we stood against the door but eventually we stopped to catch our breath.

"Well, if everyone came back from a mission to that," I said, between breaths. "I think they'd all be thoroughly motivated."

Rae laughed, lowering the zipper on her black jacket a touch. "How about regrouping at my place tonight?"

The thought of going home with Rae, to Charlie, seemed like the perfect ending to our day. "I'd love that."

"Good," she said, stealing one last kiss before going to change.

Not long after, Rae's arms were around my waist, tightly, as I drove us to her house. When we parked, Rae pulled her helmet off letting her blonde hair fall around her shoulders. She was perfect.

"What? Do I have crazy helmet hair?" she asked, running her fingers through.

"You look beautiful, " I said, walking closer and taking her hand. She smiled, holding my hand and leading me toward the door.

"Hello?" she called, once inside. "We brought dinner."

"Hi! Say hi Mama, " said Mrs. Gand, holding Charlie and greeting us at the door. "Agent Danvers, it's so nice to see you again."

"Hi Mrs. Gand, you too, " I answered. Rae stepped further in, taking a reaching Charlie into her arms and giving her mom a hug.

"How did it go today?" asked Mrs. Gand.

"Well, it was definitely a win, " answered Rae. "But unfortunately, one of them got away."

"That's a step in the right direction though, " she answered, helping me with some of the grocery bags.

"We're definitely getting closer, " I added, taking out the items we needed for dinner.

"Ay, Ay."

I looked over at Charlie who had her arms reached out to me. Rae smiled and passed her to me. "I think that means Alex, possibly in pirate."

"Could be worse, she could be calling me Lex, " I said, lifting Charlie on my hip. "Hi Charlie. I missed you."

Charlie squeezed my cheeks together and laughed. I made funny faces and tipped her upside down. It wasn't long before she was asking me to lift her on my shoulders so she could fly around. It warmed my heart that she remembered. I walked around the house making zoom noises and Charlie with her arms out. We came back into the kitchen to find Mrs. Gand telling Rae what they had been up to over a glass of wine, while Rae started dinner.

"Well, if you two have everything under control, I'm going to run downstairs and put away the last of my laundry, " said Mrs. Gand, with her hand on my arm as she passed by.

"Okay, dinner shouldn't be too long, " Rae called out after her.

Charlie started to wiggle and I lifted her down and steadied her. She wobbled over to a pile of toys and sat down next to them. "So your mom has the suite downstairs?"

"Wine?" offered Rae, holding a glass.

"Yes, thank you."

"Yeah, when Mon-el secured this property, he figured he'd be spending most of his time with Kara. So he offered for my mom to have her own space in the apartment and Charlie and I the space upstairs, with the extra room when he needed it. Which apparently has been a little more often lately."

I leaned against the counter and watched between Rae and Charlie while she spoke. I felt so at home and comfortable, like this had always been the way.

"What are you thinking?" asked Rae, cutting up vegetables. "Is this too much for one of our first dates? I will eventually take you out to a real restaurant."

I laughed, finding it funny that Rae was still counting our dates. "I was actually thinking the opposite, just how easy this feels." I stole a piece of carrot and popped it in my mouth.

"Really?" she asked, stopping what she was doing and covering my hand with hers. Rae pulled me to her side of the counter and hooked her fingers into the loop of my pants. She looked up into my eyes and bit her lip. "Are you sure easy, at home dates are what you're looking for?"

I looked over at Charlie who was playing with her dinosaurs before looking back into Rae's blue eyes. I ran my thumb along her jaw, "absolutely." I fit my body against hers and found those soft lips. "This is exactly what I want."

* * *

After dinner, my mom excused herself once again looking excited to get the night to herself. Alex and I were sitting in the living room with Charlie playing with her toys.

"I just want to check in with the DEO, I'll get us more wine while I'm in there, " smiled Alex, holding her hand out for my glass. I finished my last sip and handed it to her.

"Sounds good, I'm going to run upstairs and get Charlie ready for bed, " I stood, lifting Charlie up with me.

"Goodnight Charlie, " said Alex, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Sweet dreams."

"Night Ay, " mumbled Charlie, rubbing her eyes and leaning into my shoulder.

"I'll be down in a couple of minutes, " I started up the stairs and headed to Charlie's room. I got her dressed and ready for bed and sat down with her in the rocking chair. She leaned against me, cuddling into my arms.

"I love you, Sweet Girl, " I whispered.

"Love Mama, " whispered Charlie back to me. "Love Ay."

"You love Alex too?" I smiled. Charlie nodded, closing her eyes.

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome huh?" I answered. "I like her too."

It wasn't long before my little girl was asleep in my arms. I slowly moved her into her crib and watched her for a second. After everything I had been seeing at work lately, to come home to someone so pure and innocent reminded me of why this job was so important. I walked back downstairs to find Alex in the kitchen, leaning against the counter.

"Hey, any word on Reign?" I asked.

"Winn says radio silence, " answered Alex, passing me a wine glass. "Charlie go down okay?"

"Yeah, she fell asleep right away, " I watched, Alex's face and felt like something was up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm having a hard time with the idea of not knowing where Ruby is, " she said, taking a big sip of her drink. "I understand that it's for her own safety, the fewer people that know where she is, the better but-"

"But you know no one would fight for her as you would, " I answered, knowing I'd have the same feelings if it were Charlie.

"I just keep going back and forth with what's best and it's exhausting. I know my place is at the DEO but my heart is with Ruby."

"Well, I think you should sleep on it and see if there are any developments in the morning. Then, you'll have a clear head and more information and will be able to make a level-headed decision, " I suggested, drinking the last of my wine. Alex did the same, nodding in agreement. I moved closer to her, taking her hand and leading her upstairs.

"Everything you need should be in the bathroom; towels, toothpaste. I'm just going to take our glasses to the kitchen and clean up a bit." I leaned up slightly on my toes and kissed her, feeling her hands slip into my hair as she kissed me back. When I stepped back, it took everything in me to move away from her instead of pulling her to the bed. "Be right back."

"Yeah, " smiled Alex, pushing her hair back.

I headed downstairs to the kitchen and leaned over the sink, trying to gather my bearings. Alex stirred feelings in me that I was afraid I would never feel again. But I had to remind myself that Alex wanted to take things slow, which would make sharing a bed with her tonight, challenging. I started to put the glasses away and close up the wine bottle, when I heard the water start upstairs. Trying not picture Alex naked, I turned the lights off and headed upstairs. Walking past Charlie's room, I stepped in and looked over the side of the crib. She lay there asleep. Her mouth and hands twitching, making me wonder what she was dreaming about. I leaned over and kissed her head before heading back out to my room. I grabbed Alex some clothes to wear and knocked twice before opening the door and calling in.

"Hey, I just wanted to leave these here for you," I said, knowing the shower doors were frosted but wanting to be respectful.

"Oh, thanks, " I heard from the shower. I stepped into the bathroom and left the clothes on the counter. I heard the shower door open and turned around, seeing Alex peaking outside the door. Her hair was wet and water was dripping down her neck. She smiled, biting her lower lip.

"Can you pass me that towel?" she asked, I grabbed the towel she had left out and opened it. Taking the couple steps towards her, I reached out to hand it to her but instead, Alex grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her. I dropped the towel and met her wet lips with mine. Holding my hand against her heart, I could feel it beating against her chest. Her tongue slid across my lip before meeting mine and she pulled me inside the shower, reaching for my shirt and lifting it over my head. Her hands slid over my stomach to my pants and pushed them to the floor. Our bodies touched everywhere, my mouth trailed down her neck like the water droplets everywhere else. I kissed where my hand had been, hoping to slow the thundering beat and when I couldn't; I pulled her closer to me, holding her in my arms. Alex wrapped her leg around my waist, pulling us closer together. I slid my hand up her thigh. Our mouths met again, more hungry and wanting this time. Our bodies were moving together, as if they had a million times before. I slid my fingers between us and found her warm centre, a small moan escaped from Alex's throat, which I kissed in response.

"I've wanted this for so long, to be this close with you, to hold and touch you," I whispered in her ear. Alex pushed harder against me and I could hear her laboured breathing above the spray of water. She slid her hand between us, following my fingers and touched me.

"Me too, " gasped Alex, her fingers making quick work. I felt Alex's body tighten, every muscle seemed to feel the wave that washed over her and, again, let her moan escaped. I leaned against her as the water pounded over me and the same wave hit. Alex held on to me, our mouths finding one another, letting unspoken words be heard, before both of us melted into each other. We fought to catch our breath, the steam from the shower covering our bodies like a blanket. I rest my head against her shoulder and she moved my hair to the side. I turned around and reached for the tap, making the water hot again. Alex wrapped her arms around me and pulled me back against her. I covered her hands with mine and tangled our fingers while the water gently fell against us.

"I want more," whispered Alex against my neck. I smiled and reached up to meet her lips once more.

"Let's go to bed," I answered, turning the water off. I held Alex's hand as we stepped out of the shower and draped a towel around her before grabbing one for myself. We walked out into the bedroom and Alex sat on the edge of the bed. I went to her and stood between her legs, kissing her. She pulled me with her as she fell back onto the bed; our towels were forgotten on the floor and the sleep I thought I wanted was the furthest thing from my mind.

I woke up the next morning with sunshine streaming into my bedroom. I couldn't help the grin that appeared on my face as I reached for Alex behind me. But the smile quickly disappeared when I found that side of the bed empty. I sat up looking around the bedroom, Alex's clothes were gone and so was her phone. I checked to see if she left a message or if I had missed something from work; but there was nothing. I got up pulling on track pants and a t-shirt; my good morning feels were fading fast. My mind immediately began to wonder if Alex was having regrets over our night together. I was trying to think of a message to text while I walked to Charlie's room. I opened the door, staring at my phone.

"Good morning, " I heard from the rocking chair. My head snapped up and I saw Charlie sitting on Alex's lap with a book. "I heard her stirring this morning so I thought I'd let you sleep in a little more. Everything okay?" she asked, standing up and walking towards me with Charlie on her hip.

"Yeah," I answered, my smile instantly returning seeing them together. "Everything is great."

"You know, I had a dream like this once," said Alex, kissing my cheek and wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Oh really?"

"Except there was pancakes," she answered.

"I think we can arrange that," I grinned, holding her arm and giving Charlie a kiss good morning.

* * *

Despite the fact that Reign was still missing, our morning at the DEO was much lighter than recent. The Legion ship was getting ready to depart now that Pestilence had been defeated and Winn was showing me his future dirt from Brainy. I was trying to focus on what he was saying but Rae walked by and my mind wandered back to our night together. It had been perfect. It wasn't rushed or born out of adrenaline. Being together just came so naturally, spending time with Charlie and Mrs. Gand, it was as we had been together for years. I watched as Rae spoke to another medical attending, her demeanour and personality showed how kind and understanding she was. Everything about her attracted me to her and those lips.

"Hey, hello," said Winn, waving a hand in front of my face. He turned to see what I was staring at. "Oh, your girlfriend walks in and suddenly my interests are chopped liver?"

I chuckled, "sorry Winn, what were you saying about this dirt?"

"No. No, it's okay," he said, returning to his tablet. "I'm just the genius that made your wicked, awesome suit you know!"

"Winn, you know you're-" I was interrupted by a voice in my earpiece. My heart immediately began racing as an update on Reign came through. I saw everyone freeze and then take off running to his or her stations. I was right behind Rae as we ran down to the tactical garage.

"Why would she target Lena?" she asked, as we rounded the corner.

"Well, she did just finish weeks of testing and research on her," I answered, grabbing my vest and gear.

When we arrived at Lena's penthouse, Lena and James met us at the door. They led us into where Reign smashed through the window and we looked around at the chaos.

"Revenge isn't Reign's MO," I stated, looking around at the broken glass.

"She wasn't looking for me, she was looking for Ruby," explained Lena.

My stomach dropped and panic set in.

"Is she-" I heard Rae ask, while the pounding of blood in my ears settled down.

"She's safe, I'm sure of that," assured Lena.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Because where she is, only few people know of it."

"I want to go there now."

"The less people that know where she is, the safer she'll be," argued Lena.

I heard the words coming out of my mouth as I explained why I wanted to be with Ruby, but deeper down, my emotions were becoming harder to control. I felt scared for Ruby; she had the city's biggest threat looking for her and zero protection, my protection.

Finally, Lena turned over the location and I wanted to leave immediately. I was grabbing my helmet and packing up my gear when I heard my office door open.

"Hey, you ready?" I asked, seeing Rae walk in.

"I have orders to stay here and continue my work with Lena," she said, leaning against my desk. We held each other's gaze for a moment. "I, respectfully, disagree with you going without back up."

"What if it was Charlie?" I said, already knowing her answer. She walked towards me handing me my keys.

"Just be careful," she said, holding my hand. I nodded, knowing I couldn't promise anything. Rae touched my face and kissed me, a soft kiss. I grabbed my bag and left her standing in my office.

* * *

I walked into the lab trying to focus on the work at hand but I couldn't get my mind off Alex. We should've sent someone else; putting all our efforts into catching Reign at Patricia's, outside of the city, was risky.

"Hey," said Lena, walking in with coffee. "I figured a little caffeine wouldn't hurt before we dive in."

"Thanks," I answered, accepting the cup. I hadn't had many meetings with Lena alone but my gut always told me she was a good person.

"I know you're worried about Alex, but please trust me when I say, they're safe. As long as they stay within the confines, Reign will have no way of finding them."

"I appreciate your reassurance, thank you," I said, taking a sip of hot coffee. "So, you mentioned electricity was how you were able wake Reign up. Is that a pain response?"

"Yes, it is. I found that when Reign takes over, Sam is forced to a parallel dimension. While they're both suppressed, they're able to both exist. But listen, the other night I appreciated your loyalty, not turning your back on me," she said, leaning against the opposite side of the desk and changing the subject from research.

"Of course. We're friends, being new here, it's hard to know who you can trust and I've always been able to rely on you," I expressed, not sure what this had to do with Reign.

"Right, I bring this up because what I'm about to tell you will be controversial and I need the advice of someone who can be neutral," she said.

"Okay," I said, hesitantly.

"In our debriefing, I divulged that I used kryptonite as well, to subdue Reign."

"Yes, I heard that. But I also heard that what you used was the last of it."

"It was," stated Lena. "But I was able to study that as well and make more."

"You know how to make it?" I asked.

"Yes. I've told James and he thinks I should go to Supergirl, as an ally, because our common enemy has the same weakness," she explained.

"Which would work in our favour. However, Supergirl's reaction to someone knowing how to recreate the one substance that could kill her, isn't going to go over well," I said, staring at my coffee.

"Precisely," said Lena, looking unsure. "What would you do?"

"It's a horrible spot for you. On one hand, you hold the key to the enemy's weakness but on the other, you'll have to approach Supergirl with the only thing that threatens her life."

We looked at each other, both knowing what she would have to do but not wanting to say it.

"Glad it's you and not me," I laughed. Lena laughed for the first time.

"Right?" she smiled, holding up her coffee. "I'll need something stronger than this before I have that conversation."

"Rae! They need you on an incoming. It's Patricia," shouted Winn.

I glanced at Lena before we both took off towards Med Bay. Supergirl was landing as J'onn emerged carrying Mrs. Arias.

"What happened?" I asked, grabbing gloves and handing a pair to Lena.

"She was attacked by Reign. Stabbed in the midsection," stated Supergirl.

"Okay, we have severe lacerations to her abdomen. We need to stop this bleeding," I announced, holding out my hand for lap pads.

"We need to find the bleeders," suggested Lena, helping to stuff the wound. "More lap pads."

"I think I have it," I said, with my hands inside the wound.

It took longer than I expected to close Mrs. Arias up and I was thankful to have Lena's help. I walked outside Med Bay to update Supergirl and J'onn.

"She's stable for now but it's not good," I said, feeling horrible for not being able to do more. "She lost a lot of blood and while we were able to repair a lot of the damage, I feel as though we were too late."

Supergirl looked heartbroken as she nodded. "Thanks for your help. I'm going to go sit with her."

I called Alex to update her and to check in before heading back to Med Bay with Lena.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just wish I could do more," I said, feeling better after hearing Alex's voice. "Okay, you too. Bye."

I walked back to the table where Lena had set us up so we could be close and monitor Patricia.

"Everything okay with Alex?" asked Lena.

"Yeah, they're good," I said, sitting down.

"Is she going to tell Ruby about her grandmother?"

"No, she said it's not her place. She's going to wait for Sam," I said, repeating what Alex had said on the phone.

"I couldn't imagine losing a parent. Even if they weren't the greatest, they're still yours. Then having to tell your daughter?" said Lena, thinking out loud. Then she looked at me, catching herself. "Sorry, it must've been so difficult when you found out your mother had died."

"My mom is fine," I assured her. "She's with Charlie right now."

"Sorry. I meant your biological mother, Rhea."

"Oh, Mon-el's mom, she was my aunt," I corrected, checking Patricia's monitors.

"My mistake," she apologized. "I'm sorry for assuming. It was just while we worked together, Rhea spoke of a daughter who sounded so similar to you. You must have been very close with Mon-el's sister because you two sound identical."

"Mon-el is an only child, he was the sole heir to Daxam," I said, taking a seat next to her. "Before our falling out, my aunt often treated and spoke of me like a daughter. We were close but the moment I betrayed Daxam, she saw me as an enemy and there was no going back from that. But much like any health care professional here, we had oaths. I could not stand by while people suffered regardless of where they were born."

Lena left it at that, seemingly wanting to say more but knowing when to stop. I wanted to protest and defend myself against what Rhea might have said about me but I felt like this might be a conversation for another day. Talking about Rhea never ended well and we had a lot of ground to cover.

When we got back to work, we worked like a well-oiled machine. We understood what the other was proposing before the entire theory was even put out in the universe. Then my earpiece alerted me to an attack and the next couple of hours were a blur. We geared up and Mon-el flew me to Lex Luthor's mansion, were it was said that Alex was alone with two civilians and our worst nightmare was coming true. Reign was attacking and we were her only back up.

* * *

The dust settled and I ran to Ruby. She was crunched in a corner, overcome by shock and fear.

"Ruby!" I called, trying to urge her out. "Ruby, I got you. You're safe." We could hear the other agents clearing the perimeter around us. I saw Rae and Mon-el standing guard in front of us, while Supergirl went to find Mrs. Queller and clear the rest of the house with J'onn. "Ruby, look at me. Are you hurt?" I crawled to her and put an arm around her. She was shaking uncontrollably.

"That was my mom," Ruby gasped. "I saw her face. That was my mom."

"No. Ruby, that wasn't what it looked like. I mean, I know it looked like your mom, but something has taken over her and we're doing everything in our power to get her back, I promise you," I said, pulling her into me. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

I brought Ruby back to my apartment. I tried explaining everything but considering everything I had told her for the past few weeks had been a lie, I could see why she was having a hard time believing me. Ruby excused herself, wanting to be by herself and went up to the bedroom. I sat at the kitchen island trying to give her space and eating the ice cream Lena had dropped off and Kara couldn't finish, when someone knocked on my door. When I opened the door and saw Rae, I felt the floodgates threatening to open and I had to stand there to gain some composure.

"Hey, I was just on my way home and thought I'd stop by and see how everyone was holding up?" Seeing my reaction, Rae stepped closer and reached for my hand. "Is everything okay?"

"I feel like I just keep messing everything up," I whispered, letting a tear escape.

Rae wiped my tear away and smiled, "welcome to parenting." She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in. "You'll never know if what you're doing is right for the rest of time."

I laughed and leaned against her, letting me be drawn back to her good vibes. We made our way over to the kitchen and I tried to explain quietly where Ruby was at. Rae offered some helpful tips that she thought might help and then got serious.

"I was scared today. When we got word that Reign had found you, my mind was racing. And I know that's the job, but, I'm going to worry," she admitted.

"I'm okay with you worrying about me," I said, reaching across the island to hold her hand.

"Hey Rae?" we heard from the bedroom.

We both turned to see Ruby standing on the stair.

"Hey Rubes, how's it going?" asked Rae.

Ruby shrugged and waited a second before asking. "Do you think I could see Charlie tomorrow? She's always so happy and I think that could help right now."

"For sure," Rae smiled. "Charlie would love to see you. I'll set up a time with Alex before I go."

"Thanks, goodnight," said Ruby, putting her ear buds back in and getting back into bed.

"How did you get so good with kids?" I asked, walking around the island to be closer to her.

"Have you met Mon-el? He was the biggest kid for most of our lives," she joked. "Actually, Lena said something about them today that got me thinking."

I was waiting for Rae to go on with her thought, but she never did. It was as if she got lost in her own thinking.

"Did you want to talk about it? I know your Daxam family can be a bit of a hot topic," I offered.

"No, it's nothing. I should be going anyways, let you guys get settled in for the night," she said, standing.

I walked her to the door and kissed her goodnight. Our kiss lingered, both of us happy that we were able to come back to each other for another night.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow, goodnight," she smiled before turning and walking away.

"Goodnight."


	9. Chapter 9

I had barely checked on Charlie when my phone started buzzing. I covered her back up and stepped into the hall.

"Agent Gand," I answered.

"Rae, it's Lena. I think I have something. Can you meet me at my lab?" she asked.

"Sure, I'll be right over," I hung up and stretched out my back. The hot shower I had been thinking about would have to wait. I headed to my room to change before making my way to L Corp. A picture of my mom with Mon-el and I caught my attention. What Lena had said had been weighing heavily on my mind lately. There had been times in my life where Rhea had been very much like a mother to me. I could always talk to her about anything and she helped me to become the strong, confident woman I wanted to be. However, she also tore that side of me down when she caught wind of my involvement with the Kryptonians. I think the part that was bothering me the most was my mother's involvement. The lies, for years, she went on without telling me. But, on the other hand, what good would it do to bring all this up. My mom has always been there for me, taught me everything I know and has been an example of what a mom really looks like. The kind of mom I want to be for Charlie. I shook off the thought and threw on my hoodie. If I was going to be at Lena's all night, I might as well be comfy. I grabbed my keys and phone and headed downstairs. My mom was awake reading her book by the fireplace.

"Hey Love," she said, not pulling her eyes from the book. "You headed out again so soon?"

"Lena just called to say she's found a break. It's our first in a couple days, so hopefully this will be what we need to help Sam," I said, debating whether or not to bring up my aunt.

"Okay, well be safe," she said with a smile. "I love you."

I smiled, "love you too Mom."

Locking the door behind me, I ran over to L Corp. Jumping roof to roof, I took in how similar the city looked to Daxam. Suddenly, I was feeling very nostalgic. I was brought back to reality when I made it to L Corp and saw it being cleared out. Guards and equipment were being funnelled out the doors; I stood watching over the side of the building for a bit before I made my way inside to Lena.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked, cringing as agents banged boxes into walls.

"Since Reign is becoming immune to my synthetic kryptonite, J'onn ordered all non-essential personnel be evacuated," Lena drew in a deep, frustrated breath. "It's time to kick Reign's ass," she said, looking more determined than ever. She explained to me her latest break through and I nodded, following her over to the cell. In theory, what Lena was proposing sounded solid. But so had our last four attempts.

When we walked in Reign smirked at us. She followed us with her eyes and watched as we set up the injection.

"You two think you have it this time?" asked Reign.

We ignored her and tightened up her restraints. She struggled against it and Lena increased the kryptonite to subdue her. She counted down before delivering the shot and we watched as the serum drained into Reigns arm.

"The biolistic delivery system should work within seconds. If it can overwrite genes in crops, it should be able to do the same with Sam's."

"Reign's cells are closer to plant cells than we thought; as are all Kryptonians. This is part of the reason why our DNA can process the sunlight at accelerated speeds," we explained, speaking into the recorder for the medical files.

"Plasmid inserted," announced Lena. We held our breath.

The mechanical arm retreated and the system announced that the payload had been rejected. We both let out our breath at once knowing we had failed.

"We just need the right vectors, the right metals," said Lena. "I thought this would work."

"We just need more time," I said, squeezing Lena's shoulder.

"Yes, more time. Give Lena more time because when I'm out, I'm going to rip out her spine and then I'm going to crack this planet in half and you'll hear—" I cut Reign off, enforcing Lena's refractive scatter-field. I turned back to Lena, who let was letting her emotions show.

"Hey, we'll get this," I said, trying to sound hopeful. "We're so close."

"What if she becomes too powerful and I need to pull that switch to flood her system with kryptonite? I don't think I could kill Sam," admitted Lena.

"You have to ask yourself what would Sam want?" I answered.

Lena thought about her answer before replying, "she'd want me to protect Ruby at all cost."

"I know should that time come, you'll make the right decision," I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket. "It's Alex, I'll be right back." I excused myself into the hall.

"Hey," I answered.

"Hey," said Alex, her voice bringing me a sense of calm. "How's it going over there?"

"The hunch we were working on fell through. Reigns getting obviously stronger," I said, even I could hear the defeat in my voice.

"I know you guys will come up with something. I'm sorry I can't be there to help," offered Alex.

"That's okay, what you're doing is important. How's Ruby?"

"She's doing better. We were actually hoping to steal you and Charlie for another ice cream date tomorrow. But I guess this is looking like an all nighter again?"

"I'd love to but yeah, I think we'll be here all night. We're so close," I said, wishing I could be with Alex. "But I'm sure Charlie would love to."

"Really? You think I can handle two kids? Alone?" asked Alex, a certain fear creeping into her voice that I had never heard. It made me smile.

"Yeah, I think you'll be okay," I assured her. "I'll give mom a call and let her know you'll be over in the morning."

"Okay. What about you? When will I get to see you next? I mean, you know, I kind of miss you."

"Hopefully soon," I sighed. "I miss you too." Realizing these couple of days had been the longest we'd gone without seeing each other. "I should get back. Have fun tomorrow."

"Be careful," said Alex, before hanging up.

I leaned back against the wall, trying to stay with Alex before reality came spilling back. Taking a deep breath, I called my mom to fill her in before heading back inside with Lena.

* * *

As Ruby and I walked up the front path to Rae's house, the nerves of taking Charlie out alone were overwhelming. Before I could change my mind, Ruby had already knocked on the door and it was opening.

"Agent Danvers! Ruby! How are you?" greeted Rae's mom.

"Hi Mrs. Gand, we're doing well. How are you guys?" I answered, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Hi Charlie!" said Ruby; looking the most excited I've seen her since she started staying with me. Charlie laughed and clapped before squeezing on to Ruby's leg.

"Okay, I have snacks, extra clothes, bibs and diapers in her bag," said Mrs. Gand, handing over the diaper bag. "And this monster, which I can never seem to make look as easy as they say it is." She lugged the stroller through the door and pointed to the lever.

"Okay," I said, pulling it and pushing down on it. The huge stroller popped open and Charlie immediately tried climbing in. Ruby helped her in and buckled her up. I looked back to Mrs. Gand, who had an encouraging smile.

"Good luck," she said with a wink.

I tried to put enough confidence behind the smile I gave and started down the path.

"Oh Alex! Why don't you and Ruby stay for dinner when you get back this evening! I'm expecting Rae home then as well."

"That sounds great Mrs. Gand, thank you," I waved and walked beside Ruby pushing the stroller.

If I had been told a year ago that I would be walking through a park pushing a stroller and listening to a preteen tease me about my driving, I wouldn't have believed it. But, here I was. We stopped at a picnic bench to eat our ice cream. The girls were laughing and playing peek a boo and I stopped to check my phone. I hadn't heard from Rae in awhile. I knew Reign was becoming increasingly dangerous; she was becoming more and more immune to the synthetic kryptonite. I tried calling to check in. It rang for a while before Lena answered.

"Hey, it's Lena. Sorry, to intrude like this. But I saw your name on Rae's phone and didn't want you to worry when she didn't pick up."

"That's okay Lena. How's it going?" I asked, wondering why Rae couldn't answer her own phone.

"Getting there, I hope. We were up most of the night and with the breakthrough coming early this morning, we haven't got much sleep. Rae actually just fell asleep while we were waiting on our final results from our last tests, so I thought it'd be best if she got some rest."

"Okay, yeah, that's probably for the best," I said. "Could you just let her know that everything is going well over here and we're just down at the park?"

"Absolutely, will do," said Lena. "Take care."

"Bye," I closed the call and saw that the girls had finished their ice creams.

"Can we go check out the hats?" asked Ruby.

"I think that's a great idea," I said, throwing out our trash and walking behind them. We moved to the vendor and I watched as Ruby put hat after hat on Charlie, who just giggled and pulled each one off. I managed to get one picture with the both of them wearing a hat but it was a feat. While the girls had moved on to sunglasses, I noticed a man behind us acting strange. I moved myself so I could watch him in the mirror and realized he was watching us. Growing more and more uncomfortable, I needed a plan to get the girls further away while I confronted him. After a moment to gather my thoughts, I gave Ruby some money and asked her to take Charlie to grab us some drinks while I paid for our things. I watched them walk away, then turned back to confront the shady character. Only when I did, he was ready for me and held up a gun. I ducked behind the vendor; my heart was racing and shots were flying. Looking for the girls, I saw Ruby crouched down beside the stroller behind the food truck. I stepped out from the vendor and the same guy threw something in my direction. Glancing down, I saw something that resembled a small bomb rolling up to my feet. Without thinking, I quickly grabbed it and ran it to the nearest garage can, closing the lid I yelled for everyone to get back and took cover behind the vendor. I closed my eyes and covered my ears. In that moment, I could feel my heart slamming against my chest. After hearing the blast, I ran to find the girls. I had to get them out of there and get back to the DEO. This guy was relentless and had clearly thought this through. Looking behind me when I reached the girls, there was no sign of the suspect. He had gotten away. Someone was trying to kill me and I had lost him.

* * *

Sleepily, I walked into the lab to find Lena setting up what looked like another test.

"Hey, you have something?" I asked, handing her the screwdriver she was reaching for.

"No, I just want to be ready to utilize the black rock. Should Supergirl get back in time," answered Lena, looking defeated.

"Thanks for the nap," I said, helping her build her workstation.

"Thought one of us should be running on more than fumes", she said, with a small smile. My phone dinged and I opened the alert from the DEO. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, someone opened fire at the park today; a DEO Agent was there. The suspect got away and everyone is to be on the lookout," I answered, reading the description of the suspect. Hearing this Lena gasped, I looked up. "Are you okay?"

"While you were sleeping Alex called," she said, the colour in her face draining.

"Okay," I said, waiting for more.

"Rae, A-Alex and the girls were at the park," she stammered. "I was supposed to tell you."

My heart felt like it stopped. I held the edge of the table to steady myself. My whole world was at that park. Feeling every pump of blood push through my body, my phone rang again.

"Agent Gand," I murmured, scared to hear the voice on the other end.

"Rae, we need you at the DEO immediately," said J'onn.

I hung up, assuming the worst. "I have to go." I began moving towards the door.

"Are they okay?"

"I don't know. I'll be in touch." I took off running, heading towards the DEO. I jumped building to building, the worst thoughts plaguing my mind. I landed on the balcony and kept going looking for Alex or anyone with answers. I saw Winn looking serious and my panic only grew.

"Where are they?" I demanded.

"They're okay," I heard J'onn answer from behind me. "They're on their way in. They should be here any minute."

"T-they're…" I stuttered, my stomach rolling. J'onn nodded, holding my shoulders. Relief that they were okay washed over me. I felt like I took a breath for the first time since I heard the news and I was having a hard time controlling my emotions. "Could've led with that."

"We don't want to frighten the kids Agent Gand, why don't you take a second and I'll have Agent Shott message you when they get here."

"Yes sir," I breathed, heading to Alex's office. Tears were threatening to fall and J'onn was right, we didn't need to further worry the kids. I shut the door behind me and tried taking in as much air as I could. Tears were streaming down my face and I couldn't stop them. The thoughts that had flown into my mind in the moments of uncertainty were still very present. I was pacing back and forth, trying to let it sink in that the girls were okay. But it wouldn't process until I saw them standing in front of me. I was leaning over the sink in the bathroom, fighting the nausea. The devastating sense of panic mixed with the overwhelming relief that they were okay, was too much.

"Rae," said Alex, quietly. I looked up in the mirror to see Alex standing in the door.

I took another deep breath and walked towards her, wanting to touch her and make sure she was really in front of me.

"Rae, I'm so sorry," said Alex, as she slipped into my arms. "I-I'm sorry."

"For what?" I answered. "I'm so glad you guys are okay."

"I shouldn't have had them there," said Alex, tears threatening.

"At the park?" I asked, holding her face in my hands. "Where should they have been? Locked away at home?"

"Yes! Forever," she said, making us both smile.

"As much as we want to, we can't keep them from the real world. And unfortunately, the world is a scary place and guns are an all too common reality now. But knowing they were with you, I knew they'd be safe," I pushed her hair away from her face. "I wouldn't have trusted them with anyone else."

"Are you okay?" she asked, stepping back, seeing my tear streaked face.

"I didn't get details until I got here," I said. "Just an intense couple of minutes. Where are the girls?"

"They're upstairs with J'onn and Winn," she answered, moving back into my arms.

Alex pulled me into her and wrapped her arms around me and I felt myself hold on to her. We stood together for a while, not wanting to let go. But the reality of the situation was imminent.

"Someone is trying to kill me," said Alex, letting go and moving to her files. "We need to look through these and find possible suspects."

"I'm coming with you," I said, without hesitation. Alex nodded and we headed upstairs to the others.

* * *

I watched as Rae inspected the girls, subtly, while listening to Ruby's version of events. When she had looked them both over, she picked up Charlie and held her close.

I couldn't help but feel guilty for putting them danger. I tried to shake the feeling and concentrate on J'onn and Winn and the list they were compiling. After figuring out who was in containment, we moved on to bigger threats.

"What about Ricky?" asked Winn, as Rae joined us with Charlie in her arms, leaving Ruby to start her book we had bought earlier that morning. "He definitely wanted you dead."

"Who's Ricky?" asked Rae, looking at his face on the screen.

I tried to down play it but Winn jumped in and answered before I could.

"Oh just the psycho who kidnapped Alex and tried to drown her as a way to negotiate the prison escape of his murderous father last year," he said, nonchalantly.

Rae looked at me and all I could do was shrug my shoulders. I offered up another prospect as a way to change the subject. "What about Ron Collins?"

I wasn't one hundred percent sure where Rae's head was at or if she was even listening to Winn rattle off the information but seeing her smirk when I admitted that I made my first arrest at seventeen, told me everything.

"I'm going," I said. "Winn get me an address."

"I'm coming with you," said Rae, looking at Winn. She gave Charlie a kiss on her cheek and passed her to him. Winn immediately refused.

"No, no, no. I don't babysit! Not any more," he said, holding his hands up.

"Winn today has been one of the scariest days of my life. And I have lived through a war," said Rae. "Please, don't make it harder. The DEO is the safest place for these guys right now."

Winn groaned and smiled at Charlie as he accepted her from Rae. "Thanks," she smiled before turning to leave with me.

"I don't think that's a good idea, one of us should stay here with them," I said, not wanting the kids out of our sight. We headed out to the parking garage.

"I agree, but if you think I'm going to sit on the side lines while you're confronting potential attempted murder suspects without back up and Supergirl on another planet, you're wrong," she argued in one breath, adjusting her belt. "Besides, here, they're surrounded by numerous hand picked agents trained by you."

Rae looked at me, trying to gage my reaction. I felt guilty for having this target on my back and putting the people I cared about in danger. Hearing that this had been the scariest day she's been through, and knowing I caused it, was getting to me. I didn't want to willingly accept bringing someone else into the chaos with me and I wanted to argue that point but she continued before I could start.

"From the moment we met," said Rae, stopping and taking my hands in hers. "We have worked as an amazing team, always having each other's back and always able to count on the other for help. We split up this morning and look what happened."

I could sense some guilt from Rae for not being around this morning. I knew neither of us should be feeling guilty but I knew it was easier said than done.

"Please, let me help you," pleaded Rae.

"Okay," I sighed, bringing her hands to my lips. "Let's get him."

* * *

I held on tightly to Alex as she drove us through the streets of National City to some seedy bar Winn had located Collins at. Alex parked the bike out front and we devised a game plan.

"I'll confront him while you hang back. If things go sideways, evacuate the bar and call for back up," explained Alex.

"Got it," I agreed.

"Let's do this," said Alex, heading inside.

I stayed back until she was inside and went in after her. I found a table that gave me multiple vantage points. I could clearly see Alex and the man she was talking to, as well as the rest of the bar. When the server came, I ordered a beer to blend in and watched the conversation between the two at the bar. The man Alex was talking to appeared irritated but calm. It seemed off that this guy would move from Midvale to National City and so close to Alex after he was released from prison. But he wasn't acting like a guy who was on a mission to kill anyone. The server came and dropped off my beer. I reached for my wallet to tip him and could see the conversation getting a little more heated. I kept my eyes on Alex but before anything got out of hand, she was walking towards the door. I waited a minute and followed her out.

When I stepped outside I heard Alex call it in, saying it wasn't Ron Collins.

"What did he say?" I asked, watching Alex swing her leg over the bike.

"He's living with so much guilt, I'm not even sure how he's walking right now, let alone trying to kill someone else," she said, frustration in her voice. She tried starting her bike and it stalled. She tried it again and we both heard it. I felt Alex grab my shoulder as she jumped off the bike and we started running. The blast behind us, knocked us over sending Alex on top of me. We slid back away from the explosion and when the dust settled, Alex lifted her head from my shoulder and looked at me.

"I thought you were going to be on top from now on?" she joked, wiping dirt from my cheek. She looked back at where her bike once stood. "I really loved that bike."

She stood offering me a hand up. "Well, if you weren't sure it wasn't Collins before, I guess he's definitely out now," I said, brushing myself off. "You okay?"

"Yeah, guess we'll need a ride," she said, calling J'onn.

By the time we got back to the DEO, Alex was rattled. We had no leads and our only suspect had been ruled out.

"Okay, I've compiled a new list of suspects using different dat—" started Winn, before Alex cut him off.

"Screw the lists. If this guy wants me, he can come get me," said Alex. "It's our turn to hunt."

"You want to set a trap?" asked J'onn.

"Like I said, I'm already a target, right? Look if Sam is gone, I'm all Ruby has left. And if I'm gone-" Alex didn't want to finish her thought.

"I understand that. But this sounds reckless," I countered. "He's already tried shooting you, we can't just hang you out to dry and declare open season."

"Rae's right. It's too dangerous," agreed J'onn. Alex started to protest and J'onn held up his hand to stop her. "It's too dangerous for you to be out there. But, if I were you, we could bait him enough to take the bite."

The smile returned to Alex's face as she listened to J'onn's plan to shape shift into her and call her shooter out. Once everyone was clear on the plan, we headed out to gear up and move out. Alex and I headed to a roof that overlooked the park and watched as we got the signal from the other agents in their locations.

"I hope this works," said Alex, looking through a pair of binoculars.

"Me too", I said.

"I like working in the field with you," smiled Alex. "It's been a minute since you've been out here. I was starting to think you were going to change your focus to the lab instead."

"I'm glad I can help Lena out, but the lab isn't really my thing. I'd much rather be out here or in Med Bay," I admitted.

"Is everyone in position?" J'onn asked in our earpieces. Alex took another look around and confirmed. We watched as an Alex look alike started her run through the park.

"Wow, that's kind of weird," I said, seeing the second Alex below through the binoculars. I looked at Alex beside me before turning my gaze back to J'onn. "I'm not sure I'd be able to pick my Alex between the two."

I felt Alex looking at me. "I like being your Alex."

"You know," I said, turning to her. "What you said back there, about Ruby, as much as I have your back, I have Ruby's as well. Whatever or whoever is important to you, is important to me too. I'm all in with you."

J'onn interrupted our moment. "Status check?"

"Nothing yet J'onn," replied Alex, looking around again with the binoculars. "Wait a minute, I think I have something." Alex pointed to a rooftop across the way. I saw him, he was armed and watching J'onn. My heart started racing.

"Northwest. Baseball hat," called Alex. The moment the words left her lips, the shooter trained his weapon directly on her.

"Down!" I yelled, pushing her down with me, hearing the shots hit the unit behind us.

"J'onn we've been made!" shouted Alex. "I think he knows you're not me." We stood taking aim at the building where the shots came from.

"How does he know which of us is which?" asked J'onn, confused like the rest of us.

"I don't know. But he's on the move! I'm going after him!" I heard Alex tell J'onn as a pain in my side hit, causing me to take a knee.

"Wait for back up Agent Danvers," ordered J'onn.

"I'm on her six," I called, shaking off the pain and running after Alex. She was on the next building running behind the suspect. I jumped down and tried to catch up, wondering how Alex got to the other rooftop. I didn't have to wait long for the answer, as I saw her jump off the roof and I lost sight of her for a moment. I jumped behind her, needing a second to catch my breath, the pain from dodging the bullet catching me in my side again. Alex jumped to another roof. Had I not known better, I'd have thought she was another Daxamite. I kept running, I could see the suspect zip lining across to another building, I tried to call out to Alex to get her attention. The guy cut the rope he used and Alex would be trapped. I called up to her again, only to watch her leap off the side of the building and catch herself by her fingertips on the other side. The suspect was leaning over the edge with a gun aimed at her. Despite the pain, I sped up and jumped off the building. I landed beside Alex, grabbing her jacket and pushed off the building flinging us both on to the rooftop. Alex managed to kick the guy to the ground and grab his gun.

"Nice moves, Agent Gand," she said, standing over the assailant.

"Not so bad yourself, Agent Danvers," I gasped, still lying on my back.

"I recognize you," said Alex, turning her attention back to the suspect.

"Not me, my twin brother," he snarled. "And you should, after all it was you who arrested him!"

"He was on Fort Rozz. He killed twelve people," countered Alex.

"Lies!" he shouted.

I tried to stand to back up Alex and crumpled back over.

"Agent Gand? You okay?" asked Alex, quickly glancing over her shoulder at me, not wanting to take her eyes off the guy on the ground. "Rae?"

"I'm fine, just winded I think," I said, not sure what was happening. Just then, J'onn appeared.

"Take him!" ordered Alex, rushing to my side.

"I'm okay," I assured her. She lifted my shirt and her face said otherwise.

"We have an Agent down, GSW to the midsection, requiring immediate evacuation." Alex applied pressure to the wound and looked at me. "Winded?"

"It can't be, the y-yellow sun?" I mumbled.

"It can be when they're lead bullets," answered Alex. She opened up a pocket on my pants and pulled out a first aid kit. Her voice was the last thing I heard before things went blurry and dark.

* * *

I swapped out Rae's IV bag and returned to her bedside. She had lost a lot of blood by the time we got her off the roof and back to the DEO. But she was going to be okay. She had to be. I took her hand in mine and sat on the edge of her bed. I'm not sure whether I was praying or what I was doing but I knew I would do anything for her to open her eyes. I checked her vitals once again. With the lead bullet being lodged in her abdomen for so long, her inhibitor malfunctioned. Not only had she been shot but also her body was unable to heal itself under the yellow sun because she was also being poisoned. Thankfully, Winn had something ready to replace her old inhibitor once we made it back to the DEO. When we removed the bullet, Rae's vitals began to stabilize but it had been longer than it should have.

I heard footsteps and while I wished for nothing more than for them to belong to Kara, I was happy to see J'onn standing in the doorway.

"Hey."

"Hey, how is she?" he asked, moving closer to the bed.

"Stable. I just wish she would open her eyes and tell me so herself," I said, rubbing the back of her hand.

"She's tough," he assured me.

"You know, a whole list of suspects and he wasn't even on it," I said, shaking my head. J'onn nodded, listening. "When you first approached me about working at the DEO, I was failing med school. I was drunk and completely lost. But you, J'onn, you gave me purpose. You know, something to stand up for, something to devote my life to. But today, I didn't only risk my life for it, I risked the life of the person I love." I stopped for a second so I could keep it together. "You know, I stood straight in front of him on that roof today. I jumped straight across to that building, without even hesitating. And to be honest, that's not even the tallest building I've jumped off of in the line of duty."

"Maybe that's because you know you always have someone who is watching out for you. You're able to make big moves because you've had a partner you can trust," offered J'onn. "You're able to have the confidence to make the hard decisions and go the extra mile."

"Yeah, exactly," I agreed. "That's who I am. It's just baked into me. You know, jumping buildings, making enemies. That's all part of the job. But the irony here is, that the thing that I had to do to save myself is the very thing that could have killed me."

I took a deep, unsteady breath and looked at Rae before I went on. "I broke up with Maggie because I wanted to be a mother. And one day, I will be; hopefully with the person I care for more than anything. Because I know that's what I want. And I know that's who I am. Just like I'm going to be the person that jumps off the building to catch the bad guy. And I just keep thinking, I mean, can those two people coexist? And is that fair? Is that fair to the people I'm coming home to?"

"Hey, come on," said J'onn, moving to my side. "Look you may be the person who jumps the building to stop the bad guy, but you're also one of the most intelligent, and intuitive women I know. You're an incredible agent and I know you're going to be an incredible mother. So when the time is right, I know you'll make the choice that's right for you."

"Thanks J'onn," I said, letting his words sink in. I stood and hugged him, feeling thankful for having his love and guidance.

"I have to get back, but I want to be updated," he said, nodding towards Rae. "And if you need anything."

"I know, thanks J'onn."

I watched him head back downstairs and checked Rae's vitals again. She was stable, which confused me because she should've come to by now. I sat down next to her again and pulled her blanket up. I sent a text to Ruby to see how they were doing. With so much weighing on my mind, all I could do was protect the people I could, here and now.

* * *

I felt Alex stir next to me, she rolled onto her back and her arm slid off my stomach. She woke up startled that she had touched my wound and that my monitors had been turned off.

"I'm happy to report patients BP is normal, conscious for almost an hour and completely healed," I smiled.

Alex smiled, "you're happy to report huh?"

She sat up, lifting my shirt to check the wound herself. She ran her fingers over my skin. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"Considering I've been out for almost twenty four hours, according to my chart, I figured you've probably been up most of the night and could use the sleep," I answered. "I called my mom to let her know I was okay, but she said you had been giving her hourly updates already. She also said the kids are doing just fine."

"I didn't want any of them to worry. I definitely didn't want the girls to see or hear anything about what happened. Your mom offered to take them home with her when I called her," she explained.

"Thank you," I said, moving her hair back.

"You don't have to thank me," answered Alex, covering my hand with hers. "I've had a lot of time to think and, at first, everything just spiralled. Putting the girls in danger, almost getting us blown up, getting you shot, and then still going after the bad guy." Alex stood, pacing with her hands on her hips like she tended to do. "All this stuff happened today and I know it's not going to stop, this is a typical day for us here. But J'onn and you reminded me that, I know I can handle it. I mean you're right; we live in society today that can be dark and dangerous. But we're trained to deal with exactly that. And J'onn, he mentioned that maybe the lack of hesitation in my decision-making comes from the partners I've always had. I know I can trust them one hundred percent." Alex sat back down on the bed and held my hand. "Just like I know, I can trust the important person in my life. That when I come home from having a day, you'll understand. Or if I get hurt, you'll be there in all the ways I need because we get each other and you know I'll be there for you in the same ways." She reached out and touched my face. "What I'm really saying is, I'm all in with you too. Always."

I couldn't help the huge smile that crept on to my face as I pulled her into me and kissed her. Alex wrapped her arms around me, holding me to her and I had never felt happier.

"I mean there's still things I worry about but-"

"But we'll cross those bridges when we get there, together," I assured her.

"That sounds good," she said, resting her head against mine.

"Excuse me Agent Danvers," interrupted another Agent. "Agent Schott has detected Supergirls signature within our atmosphere. It happened simultaneously with a large disruption at L Corp. "

"Sounds like she's back just in time," said Alex.


	10. Chapter 10

We arrived at L Corp just in time to see Supergirl shielding Sam's naked body from falling ashes. Alex deployed the team to clear the floor before moving towards them.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked, looking from Sam to Lena. Lena nodded her head and Sam was coming to. I took off my jacket and pulled a pair of extra scrub pants from my pack for Sam.

"We should get her back to Med Bay," I suggested to Alex, seeing Sam looking slightly out of it.

"I agree," said Alex, motioning to another Agent to bring in the stretcher. "You ride back with her. Double check Lena before you go and I'm going to get Ruby."

"Copy that," I answered, moving to Lena.

"Hey," I said, happy to see she was unharmed. "You did it!"

Lena smiled a modest smile and leaned back against the desk. "Well, it was only plan A."

"Sometimes you just have to stick to the original plan," I offered, knowing the frustration we felt trying plan after plan. "It was great to work with you, hopefully we can do it again."

"Likewise," she answered, holding out her hand. I shook it and noticed a large bruise on her wrist.

"You okay?" I asked, turning her wrist upside down.

"Yeah, it's nothing. Reign was trying to test me just before Supergirl showed up, that's all," she smiled, her attention turning to Supergirl as she walked up.

"Okay, I'll see you around?" I waved; giving them time to talk and noticed a softness come over Lena that I hadn't seen before.

"Actually, I'd like to be there to make sure Sam's cleared, if you don't mind?" she asked.

"Of course," I nodded, respecting Lena's medical opinion. "I'll see you guys over there."

I walked over to Sam to see how she was doing. "Ready to go?" I asked her, she looked like she could barely open her eyes. I took her pulse and realized that her heartbeat was unusually slow. Sam slowly nodded and I motioned to the team to move her out.

Back at the DEO, Sam's tests came back normal other than her being super dehydrated. We got her set up with an IV and fluids before Supergirl came in to check on her with Lena, who handed me a scan of Sam's DNA. I was looking it over when Alex and Ruby arrived.

"Mom?" I heard, as I looked up to see Ruby run towards her mother. Everyone watched as the two reunited and I glanced over at Alex. The tears in her eyes said everything.

"She's all clear," I said, walking to her side and handing her the chart.

"Mhmm," she mumbled, clearing her throat. "Uh, that's great."

"I'm going to have her stay in Med Bay for the night so we can monitor her levels and make sure she's one hundred percent before she leaves," I said.

"Sounds good," said Alex, glancing down before shooting me a half smile.

I knew this was hard for Alex, it was written all over her face.

"So, I was thinking," I said, bumping her shoulder. "I'm out of here in twenty minutes, pizza and beer at my place?"

Alex brushed at a tear that threatened to fall. "Yes, that sounds like exactly what I—"

"Hey! Sorry Rae," interrupted Supergirl. "Alex, we need to talk."

Alex looked at me not wanting to pick between us. "Rain cheque?" asked Alex, her arm being linked with Kara's.

"Absolutely," I answered, knowing the sisters hadn't seen each other while Supergirl was away. I watched them head out of Med Bay and glanced back at Sam and Ruby. With everyone safe and sound, I couldn't wait to get home to my family. I handed off Sam's case to the night medical team and headed home.

I finished drying Charlie's hair and hung up the towel. She giggled and ran from the bathroom to her bookshelf to pick out a book.

"Book?" she asked, handing me one of our favourites and taking my hand to lead me to the rocking chair. I sat down and lifted her onto my lap; she cuddled into me and pointed to the pictures as I read out loud. By the last page, Charlie was fast asleep. I cuddled her closer and realized how much I had missed this over the last few chaotic weeks. I reached for the blanket on the back of the chair and covered us both. Moments later, we were both asleep.

The knock on the door startled me awake. I looked down at the sleeping baby in my arms and gently rocked her as I stood and tucked her into bed. I turned on her monitor and closed the door before heading to see who was at the door.

"Was that the door?" I heard from my moms' door to her suite.

"I think so, I got it," I answered, watching her nod and head back downstairs.

I opened the door and was surprised to see Alex standing there.

"Hey," I said, happy to see her. Alex looked up, her hands still in her pockets and her sad, red eyes gave away that she had been crying. "What happened? Are you okay?" I pulled her inside and lifted her chin so she'd look at me.

"I'm sorry for just showing up like this," she shrugged and wiped at a tear.

"Don't be, I'm glad you're here. You should've called, I would've picked you up," I offered.

"After Kara left, I just needed to grab some air and before I realized it, I was here," she said, with a sad smile. I took her hand, leading her to the couch.

"What's going on?"

"She's leaving," answered Alex, almost in a whisper like she was afraid to say it out loud.

"I know it's hard but you'll still see Ruby, I'm sure she'll be over at your place all the time," I assured her, still holding hand.

Alex looked down shaking her head. "Kara," she said.

"What? Where is she going?"

"That meteor they went to, to find the harun-el, it was Argo," she explained.

"Argo? Like Krypton?" I asked, confused at how a planet that I knew to be demolished could be orbiting in space.

"Turns out the research her father had been working on saved them. He was able to form a dome around the city, protecting it." Alex seemed to have calmed a little. "Her Mom is alive."

"That's crazy," I said, the news blowing me away. "How long is she going for?"

Alex shook her head, "I don't know. I know I'm being selfish, but I don't know what I'll do without her."

I pulled her into me, wanting to comfort her. "Well, I'm sure you guys will figure it out. Plus, you always have us."

* * *

I woke up with my arms around Rae who was still sleeping. The sun was shining through and gave enough light to outline the rest of her body under the sheet. She was beautiful. Since Kara left, I had been spending most of my nights here with Rae and her family. I tried moving without waking her.

"No, five more minutes," she murmured against her pillow, sliding her fingers between mine and pulling my arm back around her. I wrapped myself around her, smiling against her shoulder.

"Good morning," I whispered behind her.

"It is a good morning whenever I can wake up with you," she said, rolling over to look up at me. She touched my face. "I love you."

She had never said that to me before and I felt myself stiffen. She smiled and pushed herself up to kiss me, her soft lips meeting mine. I kissed her back, my hand moving over her collarbone. And then she was gone. She was up and wrapping herself in the sheet and grinning as she walked to the bathroom, leaving me with nothing but my smile as I watched after her.

I threw on my sweats and made my way to Charlie's room. She was sitting up in her crib, reading a book that been left off to the side.

"Ay!" she smiled when she saw me.

"Good morning my girl!" I said, reaching in and picking her up. "Did you have a nice sleep?"

Charlie nodded and pointed to her book still in the crib. "Little light reading with breakfast?" I asked, picking it up. She took it and hugged it to her chest as we walked downstairs.

"Good morning girls!" greeted Rae's mom.

"Morning Mrs. Gand," I said, accepting the hot mug of coffee she poured for me. "How was your night?"

"Oh, it was lovely. I finished another book last night. It's been so nice having you and Rae home. I've had so much extra time to get my reading in," she said, taking her spot at the breakfast table once again. It felt so natural to hear her talk about Rae and I together, like we've been together forever and not just a couple months.

"Morning everyone," greeted Rae, swooping into the kitchen to get coffee.

"Good morning dear, you're awfully chipper in the mornings lately," teased Mrs. Gand. "When Rae was younger, she most definitely was not a morning person."

"I don't know what you're talking about," smiled Rae. She went about making Charlie her usual breakfast of waffles. "Run this morning?"

"Sure," I agreed, sipping my coffee. This had become our routine. Wake up, coffee and breakfast with Mrs. Gand and Charlie, a run and then I'd head home to get ready for work. Everything had been falling into place since we caught Reign and I couldn't be happier. We sat around the table listening to stories about Charlie or Daxam, occasionally sharing Rae and I's latest win at game night. And this morning, after Rae's confession, I couldn't help but feel life was perfect.

I ran next to Rae, finding it somewhat endearing that she would slow to my pace, knowing she could run circles around the city before I was done tying my laces. We slowed down when we got to the boardwalk and took a second to stretch.

"That was pretty good timing today Danvers, something put a little pep in your step today?" teased Rae.

"You could say that," I said, leaning against the rail to stretch my hamstring. Rae leaned next to me looking out over the water. I turned and joined her, watching as the warm sun pulled up out of the water. "You know, I think you're on to something. Everything seems brighter and more full of life when I wake up next to you." I said, bumping into her shoulder and staying there. "I love you too."

She turned to me, hearing those words, she had the biggest smile I've seen her wear. "What?" I asked, wondering what she thinking? "I wanted to say it back this morning, but you left right after our kiss."

"I might've had some school girl nerves that you weren't going to say it back," she smirked, turning to face me.

"How could you ever doubt it?" I asked, moving closer to her. "I've felt your love for ages. I love the way you love me. Your looks, your touches, I love you."

She leaned up and kissed me, smiling against my lips. "That's a lot of love," she said against my lips.

"It is a lot of love, isn't it?" I asked, hearing the cheesiness after I said it. I could have stayed like that all morning, even though the idea of PDA wasn't my thing, but my ringing phone said otherwise. "Agent Danvers."

I listened as J'onn explained he needed to see me at his place before work. I agreed and hung up.

"Everything okay?" asked Rae.

"Yeah, J'onn just wants my opinion on something before work. So I'm going to stop there quick, I'll meet you at work?"

"Sounds good," she answered, giving me one more kiss before heading back down the path we came.

"Hey!" I called after her and she turned around. "Love you."

I saw her smile, "love you too."

* * *

When I got to work, Sam and Ruby we're outside waiting.

"Hey guys, I didn't realize you'd be here or I would've grabbed extra coffee and hot chocolate," I said, looking at Ruby.

"Rae, my Mom is still sick," blurted Ruby.

Sam tried to real her in and explain more calmly. "I don't know what's happening to me. After you discharged me, I felt fine and I have since. But lately, I just keep feeling different."

"Okay, well let's not jump to any conclusions. Let's head inside and see what we can find," I said, holding the door for both of them. I sent Alex a text to give her a heads up. I'd need her and Lena in on this to make sure we didn't miss anything.

Once inside, I got a hold of Lena. She gave me a list of tests to start while she made her way over. Alex and Lena arrived at the same time.

"Hey Ruby," said Alex, as Ruby ran to her and wrapped her arms around her waist.

Lena came straight to me and I handed her the results hoping that what I had interpreted was wrong. She looked at me without saying anything and I knew that wasn't the case. We looked over at Alex who was testing Sam's neurological reflexes; this news wasn't going to go over well.

"Sam your blood cells have mutated. Before they presented as human but now they are transforming back to their natural state, which is Kryptonian," explained Lena.

"Like Supergirl?" asked Ruby. "Isn't that good?"

"I don't feel stronger, I've never felt weaker," said Sam.

"That's because your blood cells are oxygen deprived. In fact, they look like they're becoming dormant," continued Lena, regrettably.

"We need to fix this," said Sam.

"If she's like Supergirl, wouldn't the yellow sun fix her?" asked Ruby.

"She's right," said Alex looking at me. "We can super charge her."

"Okay, let's get her upstairs," I said, getting Sam ready for transport. "Let's monitor the sun lamps and keep an eye on her oxygen levels."

I watched as our team moved Sam upstairs and Ruby went with them. Alex was gathering up tools and notes we'd need to continue testing Sam up in Med Bay.

"Hey," I said, walking over to her. "Everything okay with J'onn and M'rynn?"

"M'rynn thinks it's his time. He wants to preform something called the reach, which will transfer all his memories to J'onn before he dies. J'onn looked devastated. I feel horrible," said Alex, reaching for my hand.

"Why don't you go back and be with them? I can handle the test here and keep you updated," I offered.

"I can't. J'onn put me in charge. He said this was something he had to do on his own," she said, looking torn.

"I'm sure knowing you're handling things here is just as comforting for him," I assured her.

"How can such a good morning turn to this?" she asked, leaning her hip against the desk.

I smiled, "cause we left the bubble of our bed."

"I want to go back there."

Before I could reply, the whole building shook. The alarm sounded and we knew there had been a breach.

"Let's go," said Alex, running to the chaos. We ran downstairs to the control desk and stopped as we saw three dark Kryptonians. They were attacking and there was no time to think. Agents were being thrown as they tried to stop them.

"We were drawn by the blood of our fallen Worldkillers. Hand it over and we won't spill yours," demanded the one in the middle.

I heard Alex whisper to Demos to run to the lab and destroy the blood. Then she turned to me and signalled.

"Didn't they teach you how to knock on Krypton?" she asked, walking out of the shadows and aiming her weapon on them. She fired an electric net at them, pushing them to the floor and trapping them.

"Go secure Sam and Ruby and I'll head to the armoury," ordered Alex.

I nodded, taking off and running towards the lab. I got there at the same time as one of the Kryptonians. I ran at her, trying to take her down and she flung me across the hall with her heat vision. From the ground, I could see Ruby and Sam disappear behind Lena's refractive scatter field. I smirked, thinking Alex had rubbed off on Ruby already. Getting my breath back, I stood and saw Demos trying to sneak into the back of the lab to grab the blood. A noise grabbed the invaders attention and I saw Demos grab the blood and leave, but not without giving himself away. I ran at the hooded figure and tackled her to the ground. We grappled for a moment before I picked her up and threw her across the room.

"I see you found the blood of our sisters," I heard behind me. I turned around to the leader of these three walking towards Demos and I.

"Yeah, well I found kryptonite bullets," said Alex, shooting her with one and saving us from certain heat vision. Before we had a second to catch our breath, the second Kryptonian was back. She took out Alex and hit me again with her heat vision. I was sent backwards over the desk. Alex had more kryptonite and was using it to keep her at bay. I got up and grabbed her by her cloak and spun her around, we both fell once I let go of her. They both stood up at once and threw the kryptonite to the side, smirking but Alex was on them. She shot them both at once, weakening them once again before she ran at them knocking them both over the railing and to the bottom floor. Alex landed hard on the desk and was still. I ran to her.

"Alex," I called, almost sliding up next to her. She looked up at me from her back with a small smile. "That was pretty badass."

I reached out a hand and helped her up. "I've always wanted to do that," she said, dusting the broken glass off her. We heard a commotion coming from downstairs and ran to the railing. We made it in time to see the Kryptonians disappear and Demos was lying facedown, not moving. I jumped over the railing and ran to him. Gently, I rolled him over and checked for his pulse. I couldn't find it. I started chest compressions and Alex arrived beside me with a stretcher. Everyone watched on as we tried our best to bring our colleague back. Alex was handing me everything I needed before I could even ask for it and the commotion around us faded. All I could see was the patient in front of me. It brought me back to the war, seeing injured beings just lying lifeless, one after another. I pushed the thought away and focused back on Demos. Alex handed me the paddles and charged it.

"Clear," I called; making sure everyone was out of the way. I held the paddles to his chest and shocked him. The result came back negative. "Charge again." The power to the paddles hummed and everyone stepped back. "Clear."

Demos' body lifted slightly off the floor and gasped could be heard from the crowd around us. Still, nothing had changed. "Charge again."

"Agent Gand?" questioned an agent from Med Bay.

"Charge again," I repeated, challenging the junior agent to question me again. Once again, the hum buzzed through the paddles and I shocked him. His body responded and fell flat. And then a beep on the monitor signalled his return. "Got something, let's get him up to Med Bay stat."

"Nice one Agent Gand," said Alex, pushing the stretcher by me to the elevator.

I nodded and found the sheepish gaze of the agent who had questioned me. I wanted to make it clear that when a fellow soldier was in need you don't give up. But, judging by the look in his eye, he already recognized his mistake. I pulled my gloves off and headed upstairs to Demos.

* * *

Once the dust settled, I went to check on Ruby and Sam. Rae had mentioned that Ruby had hid them behind the scatter field but I wanted to be sure they were safe.

"Hey," I said, walking into Med Bay. The look on Ruby's face said it all, her fear, her worry and her sadness. I wished I could take it all away. "We're secure here for now. We're going to come up with a plan and we're going to keep you safe. I promise."

"How?" asked Ruby, holding her moms hand.

"I have the best people working on it right now. We'll come up with something. I'll keep you updated," I assured her, squeezing her shoulder before heading back downstairs.

At the command desk, Winn, Rae, Supergirl, Supergirl's mother and Mon-el had gathered and were trying to track down the heat signatures of the Kryptonians.

"What do we have?" I asked, wanting to know the progress.

"Nothing, as of yet. They're protected by magic," announced Alura.

"I will find them," said Winn, determined to avenge Demos injuries.

"Do you think we should call J'onn?" asked Supergirl.

"No, he's with M'yrnn. I'll reach him if the situation becomes dire," I said, knowing that what they were going through was also important.

"You guys," interrupted Lena. "I think I know what's happening to Sam."

"Sam, you should be in bed," said Supergirl, seeing the weak woman leaning against Lena.

"No, this involves me," she stated.

Lena held up a tablet, "these are Sam's blood cells, and these are Reign's. Sam's blood cells are getting weaker, while Reign's are getting stronger. They share a symbiotic, non-local entanglement. Reign and Sam are still connected. Reign is back and getting stronger by the minute."

"But I destroyed the Worldkiller's blood," offered Supergirl, unsure how this was possible.

"I don't know how, but they have it," argued Lena.

"Well, if Reign is getting stronger, couldn't the opposite be true? If Sam gets stronger, than Reign would get weaker," questioned Mon-el.

"My thoughts exactly," said Lena.

"But how?" I asked. "Nothing we have tried has worked."

Just then Alura brought up the Fountains of Lilith. She explained how vengeance had been spoken about on Fort Rozz back when she sentenced those to the prison. She spoke of two fountains; one that gave strength and the other that brought weakness. She had heard of the story of a woman who had been born in the ashes with the power of destruction. From here, between Supergirl and Sam, we were able to resurrect the rest of the story and formulate a plan. It was risky and it included Sam going back to the Dark Valley.

"It's too risky," I said. "Sam is too weak. We can't put this on her."

"Alex is right," agreed Lena.

But Sam was not letting up. She was determined to end Reign today, for Ruby. I had to admit, I admired her for fighting for Ruby. I wanted to have that kind of motivation behind the choices I made. I fought for the good of the world but I wanted to have someone that I could fight for. Then Rae caught my eye and while I could hear all the points that Sam was bringing up, I knew I had reasons to fight. I had people that relied on me and that I wanted to protect with everything I was. When I understood that, I knew Sam would be okay. I could sense that she would be able to do anything because of the purpose she had.

I was waiting outside Med Bay with Rae, watching Lena hook Sam up. I had already tried to get Ruby to leave her mom while she underwent the shock but she wouldn't leave her mothers side.

"She's persistent, that's for sure," said Rae, watching over Ruby.

"Yeah, she is. That's a good quality for her to have," I said, hoping she'd always stand up for herself and what she believed.

"Alex?" said Supergirl, from behind me. Rae and I turned to see Supergirl and her mom. "This is my mom. Mom, this is Alex."

Alura gasped and grabbed me in a hug. "You and your family rescued my daughter. I am indebted to you."

"Well, sometimes, I think she's the one that rescued us" I said, smiling at Kara, who I had missed after all this time. I turned to Rae. "Mrs. Zor-el, this is Agent Rae Gand, my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Zor-el," said Rae, as Kara squealed at hearing the news.

"You guys made it official! I want all the details," she beamed.

"Sam's ready," interrupted Lena.

"Well, I guess those will have to wait," I said, watching everyone file in on stand by in case things went sideways. Ruby came to stand next to me while Lena began. She was scared and I hugged her, hoping that would ease even the slightest of her worries. We had barely begun the process when the building began to shake once again. This time, however, was different.

"Go!" shouted Lena, holding her hand out to Ruby, "we have this."

"Ruby, stay with Lena," I instructed her, as I headed out to be briefed on what was happening.

I found Winn. He was downloading the facts as they were coming, we stood on the balcony that overlooked the city and watched as destruction and chaos took over.

"It's starting," said Supergirl, referring to the terraforming.

"Eight point oh earthquake, tornados and super storms over Madagascar?" questioned Winn. "Tsunami's. We got a hundred percent chance of, you guessed it, Reign."

Mon-el was explaining an event that Brainy had mentioned to him, a genesis that had happened on the planet Zunn when J'onn and M'yrnn appeared. I felt horrible that they had been interrupted but at the same time, I was relieved to see them. The next couple of hours were going to be horrendous. We geared up and headed out.

"Rae," I said, stopping her from putting on her vest. "Maybe you should head home and make sure your mom and Charlie are okay?"

Rae smiled at me, "they're in the safe room. It was supposed to be a bonus room, but I guess it's coming in pretty handy." She reached out to touch my cheek. "Plus, we're better as a team right?"

I nodded; wanting nothing more than to keep her safe and have her at home in the safe room as well. But, at the same time, I was thankful to have someone I could count on by my side to ease my fears.

Heading out, things were nothing but chaotic. Glass was falling, people were running everywhere and the earth was breaking. We all moved out and began helping as many people as we could. J'onn ordered Rae to set up a triage in the park and to start taking in the seriously injured right away. My new gadgets from Winn really came in handy and I made a mental note to thank him. It felt like hours had passed and everything was getting worse, to our surprise, the Legion had returned and stopped a massive tsunami from wiping out the city. Winn was constantly calling out new threats that needed to be neutralized and we were running all over the city to keep it safe. Fire, flooding and fear plagued the streets and agents were going above and beyond their comfort zones. As I brought a group of survivors to the triage area, I saw Rae running from patient to patient helping as many as she could. I had never felt a greater sense of pride than I did seeing my coworkers, risking their lives to save others. Some looked exhausted but never once did I see them slow down. The terror was all around us without an end in sight, and just like that, it seemed to stop in an instant. We all looked around wondering if had actually been stopped or if it was coming back. But the loud, cheering and applause signalled the end. Finding our group, we help gather up the few injured still in need and headed back to the DEO. I had a feeling this was far from over.

When we got back to the DEO, we learned that it had been because of M'yrnn that the terraforming had ceased. But in the process, he had given his life to save us. We were devastated for J'onn. I went to him.

"I'm so sorry J'onn," I said, hugging him.

"He saved us," said J'onn.

We regrouped at the command desk and went over the facts. We still had no idea where Reign was and Sam still hadn't woken up from the Dark Valley. We really didn't have any more leads to go on.

"I'm going to go check on Sam," said Rae, excusing herself. I watched her hurry up the steps to Med Bay, before listening to what would happen next. We needed to find Reign and until Winn could locate her heat signature, there was nothing to do but wait. So I followed Rae up the stairs to check on Ruby.

"How's she doing?" I asked, seeing Rae by Sam's side and Lena checking on things.

"No changes, but she's strong," said Lena.

"I know, she's a warrior for Ruby," I said, heading into the lab, seeing Ruby asleep on the bed next to her mom.

"You know, you're really wonderful with Ruby," said Lena, following me. "You're going to make a natural mother."

"Yeah, and yet I haven't made any steps to, uh, make that a reality," I said, finally having a second to think of myself. "I never thought I'd find someone after Maggie. But I did and am I just supposed to drop a truth bomb on Rae and say 'hey, I know you have a kid and we just started officially dating, but lets have another baby together?'"

"Well, have you spoken to Rae about that?" asked Lena, following my eyes to Rae, who was checking on Sam and covering a sleeping Ruby with a blanket.

"No," I admitted. "We just started dating. I can't bring up the fact that I want a kid now. Or what if I'm being to pushy by implying that I would love to step up and be another mother to Charlie? What if that scares her off?"

"You know, she would have had those same thoughts when she realized she had feelings for you. But she obviously took the chance that you would accept Charlie and everything she wants when she fell for you," said Lena, bringing up a very good point. I had never thought of it in a way that Rae had enough respect for me to be completely open and vulnerable with her life and that I should have the same respect for her to be just as open.

"You're right," I said. "So when do I tell her?"

"Well, you've identified what you want, and that's half the battle. People like you and me; we do whatever it takes to get what we want. And when we defeat Reign, I have no doubt you'll figure it out."

I thanked Lena and headed back downstairs. I walked up on a heated discussion.

"No, I don't kill. Not even her," argued Supergirl. "There has to be another way."

"Sometimes, the thing we thought we'd never do, the thing that goes against our very core, is the one thing that we must do," said Alura.

"If, all else fails and we have no other recourse, I agree," said J'onn. "We do what we must."

I could see the struggle on Supergirl's face. This was going against everything she knew and was.

"Okay, send Mon-el and the Legion the coordinates to my ship. We'll meet them there," ordered J'onn. We had a location and were moving out and J'onn stopped me.

"Alex, I need you to stay here. I'm pulling everyone that can protect him or her under the yellow sun, which includes Rae. So, I'll need you to run point from here and take over Med Bay and Sam upstairs," said J'onn, laying out the orders.

"J'onn, I'm sure the agents upstairs can handle it, I'll be more help out in the field than I will sitting here," I argued, not liking the fact that my team would be out there without me.

"Alex, we both can't go out there. I need to know that the DEO will be taken care of with a proper second in command should something happen out there," said J'onn, holding me by my shoulders. "You're the only person I trust to keep this place running as it should."

I nodded, disagreeing with his orders but having the respect to not argue with a commanding officer. He nodded and headed out to meet with the rest of the team.

Upstairs, I explained to Lena what was happening and we stood by waiting for Sam to wake up. I had my earpiece in my ear so I could hear every part of the action out in the field. I was happy to have Lena there to monitor Sam because majority of my attention was on listening to the multiple voices in my head. They found Reign and the fight was on. I could hear groaning and grunting as they fought against the Worldkillers and Reign. At times I couldn't tell which side was winning. I fired up the new technology that Winn had developed, which allowed for Med Bay to monitor everyone's vitals from the lab. Along with this feature, the improved suits had the capacity to deliver electric shock to restart the heart, as well as, sensors to detect several other issues and administer fast acting drugs if needed. On the screen, I had files open for all the agents that were out there fighting, including Rae. Her heartbeat was racing but no different from anyone else's. All stats were reading normal and I left the screen open so they could be constantly monitored.

"Alex!" called Lena, I turned seeing Sam awake and levitating. We all watched in shock as Sam floated back down to the bed.

"It worked," said Lena, unable to hide her surprise.

"Mom, you're super," said Ruby, her eyes wide.

"Where are they?" asked Sam, pulling off all the wires and stickers attached to her body.

"They went after Reign and the witches," I said, still not certain how Sam was able to do it. We watched her run off with super speed from Med Bay. We brought our attention back to the screens where everyone's stats were still stable. Until Supergirl's alarm began to sound, her file indicated suffocation, which meant something was interfering with her airway. It was difficult to put together what was happening from hearing the noises in my earpiece to what was on the monitor. Suddenly, Supergirl was coming back around but all the other alarms, one by one, started to sound. First, Alura's stats faltered and then flat lined.

"Supergirl's mom was hit!" I said, moving to the controls to administer the in-suit defibrillator. "It didn't work."

"Mon-el's stats are falling. His suit isn't registering any movement," said Lena, trying the same thing on his. "The suit got him back, but his pulse is thready. Rae isn't moving either!"

"Rae, do you copy?" I called, panic setting in. "What's happening over there? Rae!"

The only response I got was a flat line signal from Rae's vest.

"N-no," I said, punching the button to shock her vest. "Rae! Rae, answer me." I stepped back to see whose vitals were still active, maybe it was a malfunction in the new suit technology. But deep in my stomach, I knew the situation wasn't good. Only J'onn and Supergirl's vitals were active and stable.

"J'onn? Supergirl? What's happening?" I called, fearing the worst. Winn came up to inspect the technology to double check for defects.

"Alex?" called Supergirl.

"Supergirl, are you okay? Where is everyone?" I asked, moving communication over the speakers in the lab.

"I screwed up, I need you to find me a disruption," said Supergirl.

"A disruption?" I asked, not understanding.

"I need to go back in time, like the Legion," explained Supergirl.

"You can't breath in space," said Winn.

"I'm wearing Mon-el's ring. I can breath with it on," said Kara. "If I can go back in time, I can use the electricity in the Harun-el to get us to the Fountain of Lilith."

"Okay but the pressure alone is going to crush you," argued Winn.

"Just find me a disruption now," demanded Supergirl.

I couldn't think and if Supergirl had a plan to save everyone who hadn't made it through the battle than I was willing to try. I heard her take off and watched as her vitals spiked and red lined.

Before my eyes, the monitors all powered back up and I was listening to Supergirl's voice once again. I heard Mon-el's voice, then J'onn, then Rae.

Finally, I heard Supergirl. "We did it," she said. "Let's get back."

Moments later, I heard the distinct whoosh of everyone landing on the balcony. The other agents gathered around with applause and cheers to welcome them in. I took my first deep breath knowing they were all safe. Ruby went running to her mom and crashed against her. It was finally over. Lena joined me on the floor and we watched as everyone made his or her way in. Ruby ran over to us next and gave us a hug that matched the one her mom got.

"We came over to say thank you, but I think Ruby did that for the both of us," said Sam.

"You made me feel safe when everything was horrible, and you made me have faith that my mom would get better. I don't know what I would've done without you," said Ruby.

"Well, I mean, you're a pretty great roomie," I smiled, turning to Lena. "So, want to give the good news?"

Lena turned to the two of them with a big smile. "Sam, all your blood tests came back and they are normal. There is no trace of any Kryptonian DNA."

Sam looked beyond relieved, as did Ruby. "You are one hundred percent human." Sam hugged Ruby close and thanked us once again, we all came together and I held onto Ruby for a second longer. She was the closest I had come to taking the steps towards what I wanted for myself and it felt like I was about to lose that. I saw Rae over Ruby's shoulder and I couldn't wait to see her. I was getting tired of losing the things that meant most to me. Having put some thought into it in Med Bay, I needed to talk with J'onn. It was time I started taking control. We said the rest of our goodbyes and I started to make my way over to Rae.

"Alex?" called J'onn from upstairs. I looked up to see him motion for me to join him. I looked back at Rae.

"I'll wait in your office," she smiled, pulling a hand from her pocket and catching mine. I went to her and kissed her soft lips, when I pulled back I knew she could sense my fear from earlier. "I knew you had everything under control," she smiled. "Listen before you go, when I was out in the field earlier, there was a moment where everything became very clear to me as to what's important. And that's you and Charlie and our families. And if you're feeling like that's not one hundred percent complete for you yet, I want you to know that I support every decision you make. If you want to have a baby, I support you. I'll stand by you every step of the way, if you'll have me. I see how you are with Charlie and it means everything to have you by my side raising her. I don't want there to be anything that stands in your way of having everything you want."

I held her face in my hands and kissed her again. Rae discussing everything I wanted to talk to her about before I even brought it up confirmed everything I felt about her. "Thank you," I said, resting my head against hers before kissing her lips once more. "I love you, I'll be right back."

"I'll be here," she said, heading to my office. I ran upstairs, knowing what I had to tell J'onn. This job had meant everything to me at one point but now, it felt like it was standing in the way of everything I wanted. If I was going to take Rae up on her offer to have a family with her, I couldn't have the dangers and uncertainty of this job hovering over us.

I walked into the training room and saw J'onn waiting for me. I took a seat across from him.

"Good job today Alex," he said. "You're always up for the challenge of learning something new, the new technology in our suits should add that extra element of safety we were missing."

Not being able to wait, I got right to the point. "I'm not sure how much longer I can do this J'onn. I put my life on the life every day. And every day, I run the risk of losing it. And I feel like I haven't even had the chance to really live it yet. I've been hiding behind this job, saying it's too dangerous to go after what I really want because of it. Then I was hiding behind my fear of losing Rae, losing her when I told her that I wanted to have more kids, losing her when I wanted to tell her that I want to be a mother to Charlie, than I actually lost her today. If Supergirl hadn't been able to go back in time, I would've lost the one person who totally understands me, in every way because I was scared. And I don't want to be that person anymore, I want to tell Rae that I am completely open to every possibility with her. Now, the only thing I'm afraid of is if I don't make this move soon, if I don't reach out and take a hold of my future, of what my heart wants, than I'm never really going to be happy. So, with that said, I want to give notice. So that I can find my new beginning and I can have a family of my own."

J'onn smiled. "You're a hero. It's in your blood. You can't resign because I want to promote you. This year, I have been given the most priceless gift. I found my father. I lived with him, I learned from him and he reminded me that the Martian way is to live among the people and to help them. Not hiding behind these walls, but with helping hands and compassion."

"You're stepping down?" I asked, not believing that J'onn would ever leave the DEO.

"I am," he confirmed. "But I'm not leaving you, I would never leave my family."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't believe it. He took my hands in his.

"Alex, I want you to run this place. Be the Director. With you in charge, I feel the DEO will stay on the right path to protecting this planet and helping those that cannot help themselves. And with being in charge, you won't have to be in the field all day. You don't have to deny any part of yourself to be complete. You can have a family and you can be a mother, all on your own terms." He stood and offered me a hand. "Congratulations, Director."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "That's not how I saw this going," I said, stunned. I was ready to give up everything I knew and now I was being told I could have it all. I never thought it would be like this.

"Go, celebrate. Tell Rae everything you want to tell her, be fearless," said J'onn, hugging me. "I know you'll continue to make me proud, Alex."

"Thank you, J'onn," I said, still speechless. We left the training room and I went to find Rae. Things were definitely going to be different from now.


End file.
